The Darkness in My Heart
by Riku's-Kitsune-Mate
Summary: Sora goes out to sea in a small fit of anger, but when an accident occurs, Sora goes on an adventure...inside his mind! Beware, Keyblade Master, danger lurks everywhere, even in your head! Starts out as KR,then KS.Good read!
1. Troubled Sora

**The Darkness in My Heart  
Troubled Sora**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, unfortunately. No matter how much I pay (and threaten) those people at Squaresoft just won't budge. (Under breath) Rude jerks!

**Author's ramblings: **  
Heeelllloooooo to all you people out their reading the newest fanfic by Plue Princess of the AnimePrincesses. This fanfic is being written mostly by me, but I may include some pieces of poetry from Princess of the Fire/ Flame. She is quite the poet, you know. Well anywayz, please review, because the more reviews we get, the faster we try to update. We mostly like good reviews, or at least ones that will help us improve for future chapters. It is very discouraging to get mean reviews just because some people hated it. If you really hate it, please don't review, unless you have constructive criticism that will help you like it. Well, sorry for rambling for so long, Ja Ne and peanut butter!

* * *

Sora sighed as he looked out to the ocean from the balcony above his house. Glancing down, he saw Riku and Kairi by the paupu tree. Noticing this, he looked harder and noticed that they were close – TO close for Sora's liking. He pulled out his collapsible telescope and took an even closer look. What he saw crushed his heart. They were kissing each other, hot and passionately, leaving Sora feeling like they had ripped out his heart and cut it up, not caring how he felt. 

Infuriated, Sora stomped down to the docks and untied his boat. It had been a present from Kairi when he turned twelve, because his other boat had gotten ruined in a storm. Sora always had the worst luck. At least he always had his friends – or at least he THOUGHT so until today. He decided to go out for a while and clear his head – AND get away from his backstabbing friends. He looked over at the tree, and to add to his fire, the two were now on the ground kissing and holding hands. Angrily, Sora rowed out into the vast ocean without realizing that it would be dark soon.

* * *

By now, Sora was exhausted. He had pushed himself harder and harder, not even listening when his arms had started to ache. All he concentrated on was his "friends" betrayal of his feelings. By the time Sora decided to rest, his arms fought in resistance to the slightest movement. He laid back in the boat, staring at the now darkened sky. From where he was, he could just barely make out the island by squinting. 

"Here I am, by myself… again," Sora mused out loud. "It seems I've been doing a lot of that, lately."

This wasn't the first time he had gone out alone on his little boat. But this time was different. He had never gone so far or at night before, but he still sensed that something wasn't quite right. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just his bottled up emotions; nothing more. Slowly, he sat up, arms still sore.

Lately Riku and Kairi had been spending more time together, often times leaving Sora all alone. And the few times he was invited he often felt left out in their activities. He would have gone and hung out with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, but they were always like they were meant just for each other, and had no room for outsiders. So he spent his time alone, finding various tasks to entertain himself.

Feeling his stomach growl (he had left before dinner) he decided that he had to go home and face Kairi and Riku sometime. He picked up the oars and started rowing the boat slowly. One reason because he didn't want to be near his two traitorous friends, and two, his arms still hurt from when he first rowed out.

* * *

He hadn't gotten very far before suddenly the sky – which had been crystal clear mere minutes ago – clouded with tons of storm clouds and a thick fog settled around the small boat and the young boy inside it. Without any sense of direction, Sora frantically rowed the boat in the direction he remembered last seeing the island, ignoring his aching arms and only worrying about survival. 

The water had suddenly gotten rougher, making it harder and harder for Sora to row. He finally had to give up the effort – he was getting nowhere and the rowing was tiring him out. A now soaking wet Sora pulled in the oars, letting the boat get thrown around in the worsening storm.

He had only been in the storm for 5 minutes, but already his boat was filling with water. Picking up a bucket, he started bailing out the water. It was a worthless attempt, because with every bucket he put out, more came in.

As he looked out while throwing out some of the salty seawater, he saw dark figures beneath the surface. Ignoring it, thinking it was mind tricks, he looked up at the cotton candy shaped clouds (he couldn't help but think about food) and he hoped that they weren't the kind with lightning. But those worries were soon the least of his problems, as a big black and purple tentacle rose out of the surface of the water …

* * *

Riku was holding Kairi by the paupu tree, enjoying the taste of Kairi's sweet lips in his mouth. He wasn't thinking, or even paying attention to anything else, just the warmth of the small, younger girl in his lap. He hadn't noticed when Sora left the island, or the fact that he was starving (evidently, Riku hadn't gotten dinner either), and only noticed that a storm was going on, until he started getting wet from the rain. 

Waking Kairi up from her nap, they both went to the small building where Sora, Riku, and Kairi's rooms and house were. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus' rooms/ house were on the other side of the island.

He left Kairi in her room, where she decided to turn in for the night. The silver-haired boy went to his own room and jumped onto his bed, where he bounced slightly from the landing. Now that Kairi was gone, Riku was finally able to think clearly again. His thoughts came flooding back to him, and he remembered his guilt about leaving his friend all by himself.

'Sora and I used to be inseparable before Kairi came. We went on tons of adventures together, always sharing whatever we found. But now … where was Sora anyways?' Riku thought.

Climbing off his bed, he went to Sora's room and knocked on the brown wooden door. No answer. "Sora?" he called. Still no answer. 'He must still be mad at me for ignoring him. Either that, or he saw Kairi and me kissing.' Riku went back to his room.

Inside, he said, "Either that, or he's over with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, but there is no possible way I am going to the other side of the island to find out!"

* * *

**Author's Ramblings: **  
Okay, so, what did you think? I know it sounds a little depressing now, but I promise it will get happier, and a few furry friends may show up … Well anyways, I think I have a good plot line for the story, and it will turn into a fun fanfic I hope. If you have any good ideas for this story, please click on the review button and tell me your ideas. If you have anything you really want to discuss with me or my friend, than please email us. We really want to make this a good fanfic for all. We aim to please and that maybe hard sometimes, but we will try our hardest to please all. And about the chapter length, I will be trying to make them longer. So remember, please review, and no flames please; only praise or constructive criticism. Sooooo, Ja Ne, and …….. Peanut butter! 

**P.S.** Here is a preview of what is to come! Just for you loyal readers!

_Panicking, Sora tried to get away from the tentacle. The giant appendage crashed down on the small boat, smashing it to pieces. Sinking, the last thing he heard was a menacing laugh and three words so soft, it was barely audible . . ._

Meh heh, I am so evil leaving a cliff hanger. Remember, the sooner you give good reviews, the sooner I will update this story. Yep, that's right, I have it already to go, so update soon!

**Princess of the Fire/ Flame:** Shuddap already! I am trying to get my beauty rest! (Throws alarm clock at the back of Plue Princess' head)

**Plue Princess:** Owww! What did you do that for!

**Princess of the Fire/ Flame: ...** (snores)

**Plue Princess:** Well, anyways, please review! Sorry for rattling on for so long. Ja Ne! (pulls out the shaving cream and toilet paper) (muttering)I'll show you what happens when you throw your alarm clock at me! (slowly advances towards her sleeping friend)


	2. Drowned and Saved

**The Darkness in my Heart**

**Drowned and Saved**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts and neither does the mouse in my cupboard… (but unfortunatly, he now owns the sugar bag)

**Author's Nonsense: **

So, here is the next chapter of this Fanfic. I really love writing this story. Remember, if you ever have any ideas about this story, please leave a comment. This chapter is dedicated to Inumaru 12 and abeutifuloblivion. If you want to see your name up here too, then give a review! I love hearing what you guys think!

* * *

Panicking, Sora started rowing faster than he ever had, trying to get away from the giant tentacle, but to no avail. The giant appendage crashed down on the small boat, smashing the boat to pieces and sending the young boy into the ocean. 

Frantically, the brown – haired boy hair thrashed about wildly, trying to stay afloat in the sea storm. He looked around, trying to find a board to hang on to. But there was too much darkness and water to see much of anything.

On a regular night and in regular conditions, Sora would have been able to get to safety. But this was no regular night, and lack of sleep (it was now 12:34, but he didn't know that), food, light, direction, and his own weariness from rowing took a toll on him.

Thinking he was about to die, memories flashed through his mind. The time he and Riku found a cave with a door that neither of them could open, the first time he met Kairi on the beach during a sunset, the wondrous time spent watching a meteor shower on the paupu tree. So many wonderful memories, that Sora regretted leaving them behind.

But the last things he heard as he was slowly sinking was a loud menacing laugh, and then three words on the wind, so soft they were barely audible.

"_Protect ... the ... Guardian!_" There was a big flash and then, darkness.

* * *

When Sora woke up, he was on solid ground … but where was he? He didn't seem to be anywhere he recognized, just a tunnel between darkness and light. Suddenly, a flash illuminated the place, very similar to the one he saw earlier, making Sora close his eyes from the brightness. 

When he opened them again there was a small figure before him. He had the two big ears and a long nose, and when he spoke, it was in high squeaky voice. "Sora, don't be frightened. I am here to help you. My name is King Mickey, and I have come to ask for your help."

"My help? For what?" Sora asked, shocked.

"Long ago, a Prophecy was foretold, in which planets will be swallowed by the darkness, making the stars blink out, one by one. I believe that this time will come soon, for I can already feel the darkness gathering, gaining strength under one ruler. Ansem, the ruler of Hallow Bastion."

"So why do you need my help? What can I do? I am only 13! (A/N: In this story, Sora is thirteen, because this is before he becomes the Keyblade Master. But, however, this doesn't take place too long before that time.)" Sora responded, half frightened by what he heard.

"The Prophecy also foretells of a hero, the Guardian of Light. The Guardian has a pure heart, and courage to stand up for what is right and just, no matter what the cost. Sora, I believe that you are that hero, destined to save worlds from destruction and darkness. You never force your worries on to others and you help people, even if it means hurting yourself in return. You want your friends to be happy, even if it pains you inside."

"But where am I? Am I … dead?" Sora asked, going completely off topic and with uncertainty, not sure he wanted to hear the awnser.

"To answer your second question, no, your not dead, but your not living either," said the King, not sure what to say. "Here let me explain what happened …"

* * *

Riku awoke from his slumber at a loud banging on his door. Groggily, he opened the door, and saw Selphie, the same little ball of excitement as ever. "Hi! You look tired! How late were you up? Never mind that. Have you seen Sora?" she said, bouncing up and down, like a never stopping rubber ball. 

"I thought he was with you," Riku said still trying to wake up. Had she been drinking coffee?

"No, he wasn't. He wasn't in his room either. We looked."

Riku was now completely awake. "You mean he wasn't in his room either!"

Running outside, Riku noticed bits and pieces of wood being washed up on to the shore. He ran down to the docks. There was only five boats, his own, Kairi's, Selphie's, Tidus', and Wakka's, but Sora's was missing. Kairi, who had joined them Selphie woke her up, had concern in her eyes. She could sense something was wrong.

Riku looked to the horizon of the sea, thinking of where Sora might be. There was something out on the sea; among the driftwood … it had red and yellow on it. But Sora wasn't stupid enough to go out to sea in the middle of a storm … was he?

Riku untied his boat and got in, telling everybody to stay there. Being the oldest he was in charge of everyone's welfare. Rowing against the tide, he slowly got closer and closer. He looked harder, revealing more details. It had a brown furry mass on it … the "it" was Sora! Rowing as hard as he could, he quickly got over to the younger boy. He grabbed Sora and heaved him on to the boat. He had been draped over a small piece of wood, keeping him afloat.

The silver – haired boy checked his pulse and his breathing. His pulse was slow and his breathing was hard, but he was alive … if barely. Now rowing with the tide, he was soon back on the small island. As soon as he was there, he pulled Sora onto the beach. "Sora? Sora, wake up!" Riku called while shaking him gently, frightened that his best friend would die. There was no response at all from Sora.

"Sora, wake up! Please!" Kairi half screamed, half wailed, as tears streamed down her face in rivers.

"Poor Sora! Come on wake up, it's not nice to scare us like this!" Selphie told Sora, as if he could listen and hear what she was saying. Her face wasn't much drier than Kairi's.

"Hey, guys. Help me carry Sora to his bed," Riku said with overly bright turquoise eyes. He couldn't cry in front of them; he had to be strong for all of them. He could cry somewhere else, in private. Together, they lifted him up and carried him to his room and put him in his bed, hoping that he would get better fast.

* * *

Sora had seen all of this, using a portal that the King had summoned, using his magic. "Now Sora, you have a very important decision to make. You can either go back now and continue living the way you are now, or you can stay here and gain the skills you need to be a Guardian," the King said, looking hopefully into Sora's blue eyes. 

"I … I don't know," the boy said quietly after a while. "I want to help, but I can't stand watching my friends cry over me. Is there any way I can tell them that I'll be okay? If there is, then I guess I'll stay here. But, first of all, I'm not exactly sure where HERE is."

After thinking for a moment, the King finally answered. "First, this place is kinda, sorta, your heart. This is the tunnel of light and darkness in your heart, and your mind affects this place. Since lately, you have been sad and depressed; you are closer to the darkness in your heart. If you reach the end of the tunnel and go through the black door, you will die. But you must go towards the light, and live, for that is your destiny. The journey will be long and hard, but the experience will be priceless. But, first, you must master this." There was a flash in Sora's hand, and a strange … sword? appeared in it.

"Wh – What is it?" Sora inquired, truly fascinated.

"It's called a Keyblade. The Prophecy tells of a Key that darkness fears. The Keyblade."

"So I use this to battle darkness? How?"

"Darkness takes many forms, usually the form of the Heartless, beings with no heart, feelings, or emotions. They are born of the deep darkness in people's hearts, and know nothing but the darkness. Battle them, but don't be afraid. Believe in yourself and your abilities, and you'll be fine. Learn new things, but be very careful that you don't let the darkness swallow your heart." There was another flash, and, in his other hand, a mirror appeared.

"Use this mirror to battle the darkness in your own heart with your friends. It is called the Mirror of Dreams. To use it, think of the person you want to see, then concentrate that energy to the mirror. Also, when you see someone dreaming hold the mirror arm length away, screen to the wall, and you'll get a pleasant surprise. As for its other uses, I let you figure that out on your own. Now, I must leave you."

"Wait! Why?" Sora asked, suddenly in a panic. "Where do I have to go?"

"Follow the light. Learn the many mysteries of the Keyblade. As to why, I am not of your world. I have many subjects to tend to, and trouble's a'brewin' back in my world. Don't be afraid, the power sleeps within you. Give it form, and it will give you strength. One piece of advice to never, ever forget: That deep down, even in the blackest darkness, there is a light that never goes out. Let that light be your guide in the deepest trouble, and you'll never lose your path. Don't be frightened. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember Sora, you are the one who will the door to the light."

Then as if concentrating hard, he finally said to the ground, "Yeah, yeah Donald, I hear you. I'll be home soon. What did you do this time?" Then, facing Sora, he said, "Look, Sora. I really good friend of mine is in trouble. Something or other about forgetting his wife's anniversary, or something. Goodbye Sora, and good luck. We will meet again." With another blinding flash, he was gone.

Confused, Sora looked around, looking for where the light led. Holding his head, the brown – haired boy said, "I have got to be dreaming." And with a sigh, he headed towards the light; hope and courage in his heart, Keyblade and Dream Mirror in hand.

* * *

**Author's Nonsense:**

Well, how was that for a chapter, huh? I've already started working on the next chapter, so the more reviews and ideas I get, the more inspired I will be to write. Do I even need to say this? Only constructive criticism and praise please. We try our hardest to please everybody, so please be patient. We have decided to email back people who give signed reviews, so if you want one of us to email you, than give a good signed review. If your lucky, we might even give you an excerpt from our new chapter! Well that is all for now. Once again it is midnight, so if you see a spelling/ grammar mistake, please tell me, so I can fix it for future reads.

From,  
Plue Princess **:P**

**Princess FireFly:** I thought I told you stop staying up so late working on that fanfic! Go to bed!

**Plue Princess:** No, you can't make me either, so nyah,nyah, nyah! (sticks tongue out)

**Princess FireFly:** (throws pillow at Plue Princess) Ha! Beat that tongue-sticker-outer! (Both girls get into a pillow fight. Riku storms in)

**Riku:** Shut up already! Some of us do actually have to sleep! (Princess FireFly and Plue Princess both throw a pillow at Riku) Hey! (Knocks both out and ties them to their beds) Now go to **sleep**! (Storms out, muttering about how they are always up too late playing and writing weird fanfics)

**Plue Princess:** Well I guess that's all for now, seeing as Riku tied these ropes too tight, right FireFly?

**Princess FireFly:** …(snores)

**Plue Princess:** Well that's just great. Well anyways, review and Ja Ne!


	3. Distant Dreams and Memories

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**Distant Dreams and Memories**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts or "Simple and Clean," and neither does Selphie. That's good because if she did, it would be full of very weird things and embarrassing situations for Riku, Sora, and Kairi because she is such a romanticist.

**Author's Crazy Talk:**

Thanks to all of the people who have read my story so far! This chapter is dedicated to Inumaru 12 and Teddy-the-Bear. Your support really means a lot to me. So, as I promised, here is the next chapter. I decided to make this chapter really long, all because of you great readers. I also found that listening to "Simple and Clean" while reading it adds a cool effect. I discovered that while I was proofreading and I felt the urge to listen to it. There are a few surprises, especially at the end, and some mysterious characters will show up. But to find out, you'll have to read on! So, enough talk, on with the show!

* * *

Sora had been walking for an hour nonstop, and by now, he was exhausted. He was further away from the darkness, but he needed rest. Picking a spot to sleep, he took off his jacket (so he was only wearing an undershirt and his shorts) to form a makeshift pillow. 

Lying down, he examined the small mirror that was now in his pocket. The edges of the mirror were covered in fairies and flowers. The handle had a strange creature that he recognized as a griffin from a book he had once read back on the island on a rainy day. He turned it around, and on the back was a giant circle with two smaller circles on top. He recognized it as the symbol of the King.

Now, Sora had a problem. He wanted to see his friends, but he wasn't sure who he wanted to see more. Kairi was his crush, but Riku was his best friend since as far back as he could remember. Sora finally decided on seeing Riku first. He concentrated his mind on Riku, recalling his memories of them together.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_It's Sora's ninth birthday. Riku, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie are all gathered around Sora. He had gotten many wonderful presents, but there was one present he was looking forward to. It was Riku's, and the very last present left to open. It was a long box, covered in blue wrapping paper, with purple bow on top. Greedily, Sora lunged for the blue package, only to have it yanked away at the last the last second._

"_Gosh, Sora. What's the rush?" Riku said, in a teasing voice._

"_Rikuuuuuuu," Sora whined as his lips formed a pout._

"_Fine, Sora, here you go," Riku said, laughing at how ridiculous Sora looked when pouting. Sora ripped at the paper, throwing it on the ground._

_Opening the box, the young boy was stunned with happiness, as he saw what Riku had given him for his birthday._

"_It's a … it's a wooden sword!" Sora exclaimed, excitement and gratitude in his voice._

"_Well maybe now you can keep up with me, hmmmm?" Riku teased, enjoying antagonizing his friend._

"_Hey!" Sora yelled as he leaped at the laughing, silver – haired boy. _

_**End Flashback

* * *

**_

The mirror started to glow a bright green, and when he looked into the small glass screen, he saw Riku.

* * *

The older boy was in the cave that he had once discovered with Sora. There were scribbles on the walls, memories from the past years that they had experienced together. Riku couldn't help but blame himself for what had happened to Sora. 

"I should have gone to look for him. I should have made sure that he was okay. This is my fault! If I hadn't been so wrapped up in Kairi, I would have noticed him leave the island. I made a promise to him, and I broke it! I should have been there," Riku half cried and yelled, blue – green eyes over bright as he punched the wall with his fist. Leaning against the door in the cave, he felt a slight rumble behind it.

"What the-," he exclaimed, as a mysterious voice called out to him in a barely audible whisper.

"The door mustn't open yet. So much to do … so little time." After that, the door stopped rumbling.

"Okay, that was weird," Riku said suspiciously, as Tidus came running in with his sparring stick.

"Hey, Riku. I thought that I might find you in here. You want to spar with me? It might take your mind off of ... you know what." Looking at Riku's confused and puzzled look, he added, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Sure, I'll spar with you, but not for too long, because it is almost my turn to trade shifts with Kairi for watching Sora." Plastering on a fake smile, he said, "Better not cry when I beat you!" But deep down, you could tell there was a storm raging in his heart made of guilt and blame.

* * *

As the image faded, the green light dimmed until it was dark. Sora was to stunned to speak, after witnessing how Riku felt. It wasn't _his _fault that this had happened to him. Somehow, he had to get a message to his guilt ridden friend, telling him that he wasn't to blame. 

Resolving to think about it later, he tried to recall a memory of him and Kairi.

* * *

_**Flashback **_

_Sora and Kairi are in Sora's brand new boat, out at sea. They can see the beautiful island from afar, and the weather is perfect. Riku would have gone, but Tidus and Wakka invited (more like taunted) Riku to a tournament to see who the better Blitzball player was. _

_They had been floating for sometime, when Sora finally broke the uncomfortable silence._

_"I bet Wakka and Tidus are getting their butts kicked," Sora said, unsure of what to say._

_"Yeah," Kairi said, transfixed by the water._

_"Kairi?"_

_"Yeah?" Kairi replied, broken of her stupor._

_"Do you ever wonder if there is more out there? I mean, like, other worlds?"_

_"Actually, I do. I mean, we can't be the only people on this world, in this universe. Hey, Sora! Promise me that someday, somehow, we will go on adventures together, just like the people in the storybooks."_

_They had brought Kairi's radio, and on it was playing "Simple and Clean" by Utada Hikaru._

_**When you walk away, **_

_**You don't hear me say please,**_

_**Oh baby, don't go.**_

_**Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel, tonight.**_

_**Its hard, to let it go.**_

_"Oh, I love this song!" Kairi turned it up and started singing along to it._

_**You're giving me, too many things,**_

_**Lately, you're all I need.**_

_**You smiled at me, and said,**_

_**Don't get me wrong, I love you.**_

_**But does that mean I have to meet your father?**_

_**When we are older you will understand,**_

_**What I meant when I said "No,**_

_**I don't think life is quite that simple."**_

_"From now on, this will be our song," Kairi said, while snuggling up next to Sora._

_"Um, okay," Sora said, his cheeks rosier than usual as he put an arm around her shoulder._

_**When you walk away,**_

_**You don't hear me say …**_

_**End Flashback

* * *

**_

The small mirror glowed blue, and an image started to form on the screen. It showed Kairi sleeping fitfully, in a chair next to Sora's bed, where he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Then the image started to fade away, and another took its place.

* * *

Kairi was in a dark, cold room. The smell of salty water and moldy wood hung heavy in the air. The air was musty, and difficult to breathe in. She could barely see her hand in front of her face much less an exit, because there was no source of light in the room. 

She somehow felt empty, but she didn't know why. It was like a part of her was missing, but she couldn't say what.

The room was mostly quiet, but … was that sobbing? She strained to move, but soon realized that she couldn't. She tried and tried, but it was in vain. Distraught, she desperately tried to move some part of her, but she couldn't.

Finally, she gave up on trying. After awhile, she heard talking outside of the walls, and she listened intently, trying to hear every word that was said.

"… So, you have the boy?" a strong female voice asked.

'Boy? What boy?' Kairi asked herself, after figuring out that she couldn't speak either.

"Yes, I have the Keyblade Master," said a young male voice. It sounded oddly familiar …

"Good. Now be a good boy and bring him to me. Then, go get the girl."

"Do we have to do this? It feels dishonest, and I'll be betraying his trust. Are you sure that this is the only way to get Kairi's heart back?" asked the boy.

'Wait! Is that what's missing? My heart? Is that why I feel so empty inside?' Kairi thought.

"Positive," said the woman.

"But … he will be okay, right? I don't want him to get hurt!"

"Sure he will," said the lady in sly voice. "Now, go get the girl, before I change my mind."

"Yes ma'am," said the boy, before opening the door to the room Kairi was in. She looked to the best of her ability, and was disappointed to see that the boy was a hooded figure, and that she couldn't see his face or hair. He had a broad muscular chest, and strong arms. But still … that voice … that figure … it just seems so familiar …

He picked her up and carried her to the door, ignoring the pleas of the other girls in the room. From what she could see, there were six of them, all of them looking like they had once been regal, but now their dresses were mussed, and their hair was unkempt and messy.

"Be quiet!" the boy ordered the girls, and immediately they all fell silent. He left the room, locking it tightly behind him. Silently, he carried her across the room.

"Put her on the bed next to his," the lady said.

"Yes, master," he said, as he carried her over to the bed. As he set her down, her head rolled towards the other bed and the boy knocked out upon it. Looking at the boy set on top of the next bed, she was shocked to see that it was none other than …

* * *

**A/N:  
**I could end it here and leave it as a cliffie … Nah, I'm way too nice to do that! Besides, I know a few kids at school who might hurt me … well, back to the story!

* * *

"Sora!" Kairi screamed as she sat up, waking from the light slumber that she had fallen into on the chair by Sora's bed. Scrambling to her feet she immediately looked at Sora. He was still asleep, in the safety of his covers. Kairi sunk to her knees, sobbing on Sora's bed, soaking the sheets in the process. 

The next thing she knew, two comforting arms were around her, squeezing her tightly in a warm embrace.

"Shhhh, don't cry, Kairi, my darling," said a comforting voice in her ear. "Everything is going to be okay." She looked up into his face, and gazed for a while in his eyes. Seeing all of the affection for her in them, she knew what he had said was true.

"I believe you," she whispered as she buried her face in his shoulder, knowing that for now, she was safe in his arms.

* * *

**Author's Crazy Talk:**

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. If your wondering who the hooded figure is … well you will just have to wait. Who's the mysterious boy that is hugging Kairi? Is it Riku? Or somebody else … (maybe Tidus or Wakka?) And what promise did Riku make to Sora? If you want me to update soon, click on the little button right there, on the bottom left. Remember the more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to write. So, only praise or constructive criticism because I will remove any anonymous reviews that are mean, unless you leave an email address. Tell me about any mistakes you may find, and I will fix them. I know this is a little off topic, but if you like quizzes, go to our bio page and click on to our homepage. It is really great if you like anime pictures. Review please! Ja Ne!

P.S. : I am really excited, because my school got out on Thursday! Now I will be able to work on this fic for awhile so now the chapters will be really long! I have nothing better to do this summer anyways, so keep reading!


	4. Sweet Dreams of Trouble

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**Sweet Dreams of Trouble**

**Author' Craziness/ Disclaimer:** Well, here is the next chapter in this story. Ta-da! Thank for the reviews! This chapter is dedicated to Inumaru 12, Aeshma-Daeva, R.A.Pointless, no name, Infared Rayz, MerodiTora, and Torachick. Wow! Lots of reviews this time! New characters in this chapter! By the way, I wrote this chapte listening to my ipod. Okay. So my mom made me visit the psychiatrist the other day. So she's like "What's wrong?" and I'm like "I don't own it." Then she says "Don't own what?" and I say "I want to own Kingdom Hearts! It is driving me mental!" Then I start running around and doing random thing. Now I'm in a big room with lots of padding … and now all I have is a computer! So send me reviews otherwise I'll go crazy! Well not that I'm not already, but that's not the point! (muttering) Man! It's like lighting a desk on fire with a lighter is a **BAD** thing … By the way, important notes at the bottom after you finish.

* * *

Kairi squeezed the boy back, sobbing into his muscular shoulder and breathed in his scent. 

"Oh, Sora! You're okay! I was so worried about you!" Kairi told him through sobs.

"Shh, don't cry for me. And don't talk, just listen," Sora said while rubbing Kairi's back, comforting her until she quieted. "Listen very carefully. I have no intention of dying, so don't worry. You are not awake, because you fell asleep crying on my bed. You are dreaming, but trust me when I say that I am really here. When you wake up, I will still be asleep. Don't worry about me, because I will wake up again. Meanwhile, I have to take care of some things …"

"Like what? Kairi inquired, wondering what was so important. Sora told her all of what had happened to him, and what King Mickey had said.

"So, you have to become a ...Keyblade Master?" Kairi said, remembering the lady and the hooded boy in her dream and what they had said.

"Yup, I do. According to the King, it's my destiny," replied Sora, as Kairi snuggled up to him in his lap.

"Okay, but … be careful, and don't forget me!" Kairi told him, as he wrapped his arms around the small girl in his lap.

"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. I could never forget you. I promise that I will come visit you in your dreams." As Sora said this, he started to glow a bright blue. "Now, I have to go, but I will be back." Sora leaned down and gave Kairi a chaste kiss on the cheek, making them instantly fill with heat. He put his mouth by her ear, his breath tickling her and making her feel giddy, as he whispered softly, "I'll come back to you, I promise." Then, Sora vanished, in a twinkling mass of blue sparkles.

* * *

As Sora reappeared through the portal he had opened using the Dream Mirror, he was shocked to see a dog sitting there, waiting for him. The dog was a goldenrod yellow color, with a happy, wagging tail, and a green collar. Bending down, he read the tag on the collar. 

"Pluto, huh? So I guess that's your name, right?" The dog nodded, then trotted over to a couplebags filled with various things that the dog had apparently brought with him. He pulled out an envelope, and then trotted back over to give it to Sora.

"Hey boy, what do you have here?" Sora asked the small dog as he accepted the letter from the dog. Upon examining it, he noticed the King's seal on the back. Upon opening it, two cards with the King's insignia fell out, along with a note.

**Dear Sora,**

**I see that you have found my loyal dog, Pluto. I have told him to travel with you, until you wake up. His help is invaluable, and he is one of my most trusted friends.**

**Along with Pluto, I have sent along a couple of bags for you to carry any supplies that you have, along with a case for your mirror. There are two bags, one for Pluto, and one for you. Pluto's bag carries basic necessities, such as food, a tent, bedding, flashlights, and etc. Yours carries things you'll need for your quest. I have included potions, ethers, and elixirs. Both of your bags have been specially designed to be bottomless and carry as many things as you want or need, but it is virtually weightless.**

**Along with that, I have included a couple of books that you will need. One is a guide to your Dream Mirror. It will tell you anything you need to know about the Dream Mirror. Another book I have included is a blank notebook for any writing purposes you might have. The last book I have sent is a book full of maps and languages, along with the Prophecy of the Guardian.**

**With this letter, I have sent two cards, as you probably have already seen. These cards are very special cards that will summon me to your aide. These cards are extremely valuable and widely searched for, and you should only use them in life or death situations. Instructions on how to use them are in the back of the Dream Mirror book.**

**And remember, Sora. You must live for the sake of your friends. The day you open the door is both very far and very near. Don't be afraid, and don't worry. You will succeed. Good luck to both of you!**

**Sincerely,  
****King Mickey**

"So, boy. I guess you're with me now, huh?" Sora said cheerily, scratching the dog behind the ear. The dog looked up happily and started to wag its tail.

Sora went over to the bags and started searching through them. Eventually Sora found a little, grey box. "Tent. Pull and throw." Sora pulled a little string and threw it in front of him. A tent was popped out, and curiously, Sora went exploring in it.

Upon opening the tent flap, Sora was surprised to see that it was full of everything he needed. In the corner was a small fireplace, large enough to cook food, but small enough so that there was still room for a lot of other things. There was a rather large sleeping bag, and right next to it was a giant, comfy looking dog bed. Next to the fireplace was a large bucket of water, so Sora could wash up. 'Wow!' an amazed Sora thought. 'What stuff they could fit inside a tiny a little box!'

Digging through the sack, Sora found a pocket full of things you would use in a bathroom. He reached in and pulled out a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap, and a washcloth. He walked over to the bucket, and washed his face. Now, Sora had a slight problem, because now the water was all full of soap suds, and he still had to brush his teeth.

"Hey, Pluto! Do you know there is any water around this place?" Sora asked the now napping dog as his ears perked up at the attention. The dog trotted over to Sora and the bucket, and used his nose to press a small little red button. Instantly, the water disappeared and new water took its place.

"Whoa, cool! Thanks Pluto!" Sora praised as Pluto went back to sleep. All of this magic was mind boggling, but well, what can you do? If this was to be his destiny, than he had better get used to it.

* * *

Feeling his stomach growl, he realized that he still hadn't eaten, except for a cracker he had found in his pocket. He dug through all the pockets in Pluto's bag until he found food. He hurriedly pulled out some bread, an apple, and a slice of cheese. He put the slice of cheese on the bread and set it near the fireplace. 

As he waited for the cheese to melt, he slowly ate the dark red apple. He savored every bit of the appley goodness as he let the juices run all over his tongue. By the time he finished, the cheese had melted on the bread. He split it in half, then gave one half to Pluto and kept one for himself. He ate his half, filling his stomach with a comfortable heat.

As Sora climbed into his bed with yawn, he forgot all of his worries as he remembered his times on the island. And as he fell asleep, there was only one word on his lips.

"Kairi," he whispered as he drifted to the land of dreams, totally unprepared for what was coming his way.

* * *

A/N: If you read the next part while listening to "Simple and Clean" or "Dearly Beloved," (that's the song you here on the load/start screen) it adds a really cool effect.

* * *

Sora awoke in a bright and sunny meadow, with flowers all around him. He stood up and looked around. All he could see was a tree, sticking out like a sore thumb in a land of yellow and pink flowers. He ran towards it, kicking up butterflies and sparkling lights as he went. He quickly climbed the tree having a lot of practice on the islands, seeing who could climb faster up a tree. He surveyed the beauty of the place, taking it in. 

The flowers were a mass of yellow, pink, and green. The sky was a sheet of light blue only interrupted by the occasional white puffy cloud. There was all this beauty, but it felt like something very important was missing.

Looking into the distance, he saw a bright castle on the horizon. He squinted at it, than remembered that he still had his collapsible telescope after he felt a lump in his pocket. He jammed his hand in his pocket and pulled out the telescope. Stretching it out, he gently put it to his eye as everything suddenly got closer.

He saw the beautiful castle in all its glory. He didn't know why, but he somehow felt like he knew the name. A voice in the back of his mind told him "Hollow Bastion," and instantly, he knew that it was part of his future, but he wasn't sure why. There was something moving … but what? He adjusted the focus on his telescope, but he still could just barely make out any details. All that he saw was what looked like magenta hair, and it was wearing a long flowy dress.

He ferociously fought to keep from leaving, but his curiosity soon got the better of him. Determined to find out who (or what) was wearing such a beautiful dress, he jumped down from the tree, landing on the ground with a loud THUD. He got up quickly and only slightly dizzy, used to doing it on the trees at home. He ran through the flower strewn field, stirring up the natural wildlife.

As he was almost there, he tripped and toppled over, landing a mere couple of feet away from a bush full of roses. 'How beautiful,' he thought, as he gazed at the flowers … that is until he saw the vicious thorns that lined the stems, and how he could have been in those teeth–like jaws of evil thorns, that could rip him up.

"Ummm …are you okay?" a voice behind him asked. Sora looked up into some very blue eyes, and he immediately recognized the beautiful white dress. It had a spaghetti-strap top, with a bow in the back. There were two arm sleeves, both with a long trail of silk on them. The skirt had a long train of lace, with white beads arranged in the shape of stars all along the top.

Sora looked higher, and saw some red-magenta colored hair and a smiling face, and he immediately recognized the person who was now looking at him with concern.

"Kairi? What are you doing here?" Sora asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"Uh, have we met?" she said, confusion etched in her face.

"Kairi, it's me, Sora. Did you hit your head or someethin'?" Sora replied, tremendously baffled by Kairi's weird behavior.

"I don't know anyone named Sora, but you seem like a pretty nice person. But, how did you get here? We haven't had visitors in years."

"I'm not sure how I got here. I just kind of ... woke up here," Sora said, standing up from his little fall. Somehow, Kairi looked slightly different …

"Well … that's really weird. How old are you?" Kairi half giggled out.

"I'm 13," Sora stated simply.

"No, that's impossible. You look about my age, and I'm only 7." Sora examined her closer, taking in the differences. And sure enough, she did show signs of being younger. Her face seemed softer and really young, and, well … her chest DID seem flatter …

"Okay, fine then. I guess I'm seven, I think," Sora said, getting more confuzzled by the moment. Now that he thought about it, his voice did sound younger.

Sora looked over at the rosebush and found that one seemed different from the others, almost like it was a magical rose. (A/N: You know, like the one in Beauty and the Beast) He reached out and plucked it, and it seemed to shimmer under the boy's gentle touch. There were no thorns on this particular rose, and it didn't seem like this was a coincidence, but he didn't have a care in the world right now, except for the little girl in front of him.

He held out the glistening flower to Kairi, who in return reached out her delicate hand to take it. As she accepted the gleaming rose, she inhaled its scent, and sighed as its sweet aroma filled her senses.

Watching her, Sora tenderly took it from her, and gracefully put it behind the girl's ear. As he did so, their faces became dangerously close together and their breathing grew shallow. As they leaned in, their lips brushed together, and as desire took them over, they held each other closer, deepening the kiss and sending shivers of delight down their young backs with a passion that was beyond their years in the small dream world.

At the first contact of their lips, the world seemed to change in an instant. The once beautiful flowers all turned brown and yellow, signs that these flowers were long past their date. The sparkling sky turned dark and cloudy, and the once bright and peaceful disposition turned gloomy and troublesome. Thunder boomed and lightning crashed as they suddenly broke off their amorous kiss in the midst of the chaos.

A giant, dark figure rose into the sky blocking out the little source of light they had, casting a huge shadow over the two younglings as the world turned into a land of total darkness. Instinctively, Sora covered Kairi with his own body, putting himself in between her and the massive danger that threatened **HIS **Kairi.

"_Step aside!" _the creature bellowed at the young boy between him and his prey.

"Never!" Sora screamed back at it, defiance in every line of his body towards the evil darkness in front of him.

"Please, move! Go away!" Kairi pleaded, not wanting Sora to get hurt because of her, fearing for the life of her new found friend.

"No, Kairi! I will always protect you! Even if it costs me my life!" Sora yelled over the rapidly increasing wind, pledging his allegiance to the young girl.

"_Then suffer!" _The creature roared, and knocked Sora aside with a giant club, with no remorse whatsoever.

"Sora!" Kairi screamed as the boy struggled to stand up. The last thing Sora saw as he raised his scratched and bruised body, wincing with pain, was the dark figure looming over the small and terrified girl. He passed out from the pain, but he heard that little voice in his mind that said, "_Heartless_."

"Kairi! Kairi! Kairi!" Sora yelled as he struggled to reach her, and quite suddenly, his face got sopping wet and he smelled … is that dog breath?

* * *

Sora awoke to Pluto slobbering all over his face, worry and concern in the small dogs eyes. 

"It's okay, Pluto! Stop licking me!" Sora croaked, as he fought to sit up under the weight of the dog. The boy wasn't exactly a morning person, so he wasn't quite awake. "I was talking in my sleep wasn't I?" Sora asked the dog. The dog nodded and brought the bucket over, along with a cup for the kid to drink with. He guzzled a large cup full, and then another. "Good dog, Pluto!" Sora declared as he got up from bed. He lazily got dressed and managed to find a brush in the packs to get rid of his bad case of bedhead. He started putting everything away soon afterward, and he exited the tent.

"Now, how do I get it back into the box?" Sora asked himself aloud. Silently, Pluto trotted over to a small red button and pointed to it with his tail.

"To close the tent, push, and then stand back." He did as it instructed, and the tent instantly folded itself into the tiny box.

"That is going to take some getting used to, huh, Pluto?" The dog only shrugged and trotted over to stand next to the packs. The dog slipped his bag on without a problem. It was specially designed for a dog, so all the dog had to do was slip its head and front paws through an opening and it would be secured through fastening straps. Afterwards, the dog assumedhis normally silly look on his face and went over to stand next to Sora, who had already donned his bag.

Looking down at the smiling dog, he said, "Come on, Pluto, we've got a long day of walking ahead of us. Today is going to be a full day indeed!" And so, Sora set off into the unknown. But somewhere, in the back of his mind, there were troubled thoughts of the unknown dream.

**

* * *

Author's Craziness:  
**Well did you like this chapter? Well did you? Huh? Huh? Huh? Well leave a review so that I will know! I need inspiration, because I am starting to get a bad case of writers block! I'm not sure what should happen in chapter five. Maybe I should have a journey into the dreams of Riku … I wonder what will happen. Or maybe they will go to a new world ... hmmm? If you want an excerpt from the next chapter, leave a signed review, and I will send you one, once I have some. If you don't have an account here, then just email me, and I will send it to you. I'm always open to suggestions and if I think it's possible to do, then I'll try to incorporate it in my story. And if you don't send me reviews, I'll be all alone in my padded room, with no company except for my computer (sobs). If you find any spelling/ grammar mistakes, then please tell me and I'll fix them. It is 1:20 am here so I'm going to bed! So tell me if anything doesn't make sense. _ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ …_ hey, wait is this thing still on? Well anyways, review and Ja Ne! _ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ … _(Hey look! A moogle! Come on, let me touch your pom-pom!) _ZZZZZZZZZZ … _

_**P.S.:** I'm going to start updating on Friday nights, but really late so that it will be ready every Saturday morning for you to read. It just makes my life less complicated, although it may not seem like it. So look for it every Saturday morning!_

_**P.S.S:** If you all are really nice and leave good and long reviews, there is a very strong chance that I might update on Wednesday! (hint, hint-wink, wink)_

_**P.S.S.S:** (last one, I promise! -Gets hit by tomato-) For all of you yaoi fans, read my newest story, Silver-Haired Savior. Also, tell me if you want to read some of my poetry, because I have a poetry collection for those who want me to post it. For more details, look at my bio page! Review!_


	5. New Journeys and Discoveries

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**New Journeys and Discoveries**

**Disclaimer:  
**I don't own Kingdom Hearts, although I wished I owned Sora and Riku. They are so cute! (One day they will be mine! Mwuha, ha!)

**Author's Randomness :  
**Hey y'all and thanks for any reviews you sent me. I really enjoy reading your comments! This chapter is dedicated to Inumaru 12, R.A. Pointless, Xarli, Duelwielder, abeutifuloblivion, and Aeshma-Daeva.Thanks for the reviews! I was able to work on this one for a while, so I hope you enjoy it! I wonder how late Starbucks is open ... well anyways, on with the story!

* * *

Sora had been walking all morning, and he finally decided to have a lunch break. He took out some bread, cheese, and ham, and made a sandwich, which he then split in half to share with the small dog. 

As he ate, he surveyed his surroundings. By now, he was in a light gray section, meaning that he had moved closer to the light. But there was one thing that stood out from the rest of his surroundings: a wooden door.

Sora finished his lunch, and then walked over to the door. There was a giant lock on it, and a silver door knob. He tried the door knob, and soon discovered that it was unlocked. He pushed the door open to discover a new world …

* * *

Kairi climbed into the cave that she and Sora had once found when playing hide and go seek with Riku and the others. They had heard Riku getting close, so Sora quickly pushed aside a small boulder and pulled Kairi in with him, and resealed the little cave. They hid in that little cave for an hour or so, until Riku finally decided to give up looking for the two, and called "Uncle." Luckily, Kairi had brought a deck of cards, so they spent their time playing various card games. 

While they were hiding in the cave, Kairi had noted that light came into the cave from the top, illuminating the small area. She took out her watering can and gently watered the flowers growing there. Ever since she was seven, Kairi's favorite flower had been roses. Since then, Kairi had been searching for a place to grow some, and the cave seemed like the perfect place.

Kairi had started calling the cave her secret garden, naming it after one of her favorite books. Kairi's secret garden was the only place where Kairi could hide and sit by her self. Her thoughts eventually wandered to the dream she had with Sora in it, where he explained what was happening to him.

_Sora leaned down and kissed her cheek, making them instantly fill with heat. _

"What were those feelings that I had felt just then?" Kairi asked herself. "When he did that, I felt the sudden urge to kiss him back, and hold him, as affectionately as he held me. I wanted him to never stop." Kairi sighed as she leaned against the wall. She pulled out her ipod and started searching for a song to play.

"But if all of those feelings came to me, by that one, swift kiss, does that mean … I love him?" She thought about all of his traits. His sapphire blue eyes, his soft, auburn hair, and his absolutely kissable lips that was so adorable when they formed his infamous pout, and, finally, can't forget his muscular arms that held her so delicately. Yup, she was madly in love with Sora, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She finally chose one of her favorite songs, "1000 Words," because it seemed to fit her situation perfectly.

_**I know that you're hiding things,  
**__**Using gentle words to shelter me,  
**_**_Your words were like a dream.  
_**_**But dreams could never fool me, not that easily.  
**__**I acted so distant then,  
**__**Didn't say goodbye before you left.  
**__**But I was listening.  
**__**You'll fight your battles far from me, far too easily.  
**_

"_**Save your tears, 'cause I'll come back,"  
**__**I could hear that whispered as you walked through that door.  
**__**But still I swore,  
**__**To hide the pain when I turned back the pages.  
**__**Shouting might have been the answer,  
**__**What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart?  
**__**But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart!**_

Meanwhile, Kairi had been thinking. 'But what about Riku?' her mind asked. 'I love him but not in THAT way, at least, not anymore.'

When Kairi was younger, she had always had a huge crush on the boy, with his muscular, athletic body, and beautiful, luscious, silver hair. She had hoped and wished for a long time that Riku would be her boyfriend, and now that she had him, she realized that she didn't love him anymore.

_**Though a thousand words,  
**__**Have never been spoken,  
**__**They'll fly to you,  
**__**Crossing over the time and distance holding you,  
**__**Suspended on silver wings.  
**__**And a thousand words, 1000 confessions,  
**__**Will cradle you, making all of the pain  
**__**You feel seem far away,  
**__**They'll hold you foreverrrrrr!**_

'But when had I stopped loving him? I used to feel lightheaded every time he smiled at me.'

Kairi bent over and started to sniff the scent of the beautiful flowers. She had been trying to grow flowers like the one in her dream.

_**The dream isn't over yet,  
**__**Though I often say I can't forget.  
**__**I still relive that day.  
**__**You've been there with me all the way,  
**__**I still hear you say:  
**_"_**Wait for me, I'll write you letters."  
**__**I could see how you stammered with your eyes to the floor,  
**__**But still I swore,  
**__**To hide the doubt when I turn back the pages.  
**__**Anger might have been the answer,  
**__**What if I'd hung my head and said that I couldn't wait?  
**__**But now I'm strong enough to know, it's not too late.  
**_

'_**Cause a thousand words,  
**__**Called out through the ages.  
**__**They'll fly to you,  
**__**Even though we can't see,  
**__**I know they're reaching you,  
**__**Suspended on silver wings.  
**__**Oh, a thousand words, 1000 embraces,  
**__**Will cradle you, making all of  
**__**Your weary days seem far away.  
**__**They'll hold you foreverrrrr!**_

Kairi had that dream 6 years ago today, but she still remembered it perfectly. The beautiful flowers, the rose, the wondrous sky, the looming figure, … and a certain kiss from a boy …, but try as she might, she couldn't remember the boy's name. She knew that he reminded her of someone, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put her finger on it.

_**Oh, a thousand words,  
**__**Have never been spoken.  
**__**They'll fly to you,  
**__**They'll carry you home  
**__**And back into my arms,  
**__**Suspended on silver wings, ohhhhhh!  
**__**And a thousand words,  
**__**Called out through the ages.  
**__**They'll cradle you,  
**__**Turning all of the lonely years to only days.  
**__**They'll hold you foreverrrrrr!**_

'But none of that matters now!' Kairi thought as she stood up and walked to the cave's mouth. 'Sora is more important!' Kairi pushed aside the boulder and left, because Riku's turn was almost up.

**_A thousand words._**

**_

* * *

_**

A/N: I don't own "1000 Words," somebody else does, though I might wish otherwise.

* * *

Sora was stunned with wonderment as he gazed at the world he had discovered through the wooden door. It seemed to be a town, with many different people. The delightful smell of freshly baked bread circled in the air. The ground was covered in cobblestones and there were many buildings. He could see a tailor shop, a bakery, a blacksmith, and a florist with beautiful flowers. He wandered through the streets looking at all of the wonderful sights. He decided he wanted to get some presents for his friends on the island. But he soon realized that everybody else had something that he didn't: Money. 

"Hey Pluto! Where are we supposed to get money?" Sora asked the excited dog. The dog took off his pack and rummaged around for awhile. Finally, the dog pulled out a small bag that jingled as it moved. Inside, he found a note from the King.

**Dear Sora,  
****I see that the time has come that you need some currency. In most worlds you will visit, the currency is called 'Munny.' This is what you will be using to pay for anything you need/want. I have given you 500, but is obvious that you will need more. You can obtain more munny by defeating the Heartless. Good Luck!  
From,  
Mickey**

"So, I guess that is one way to get munny," Sora said as he crumpled up the piece of paper and put it in the bag. "500," huh? So we only spend a little bit of it until we get more. So what do you suppose Kairi and Riku would like?" he asked his companion.

The dog ran over to a shop that had a sign that read "Jewelry." Then the dog ran over to a clothing shop, where he saw a pair of black leather gloves. Sora followed him to the store with the gloves. He looked at the fine texture and design, and he just KNEW that they were meant for Riku.

He entered the shop and walked up to the clerk behind the counter. "Hello, young man. What can I help you with?" Sora pointed to the gloves in the window. "Oh, those? You don't look like the type to be wearing black gloves," the clerk said, smiling.

"Oh, they aren't for me. They're for a good friend of mine," Sora said.

"Well in that case, they are 100. Isn't that a little bit out of your price range?"

"No … but I think that I will wait a little bit," Sora said as he left the shop. Then he ran over to the jewelry shop, which he then entered. He walked up to the clerk, and said, "Hi, I'm looking for a present for a friend of mine … can you help me?"

"Sure," the lady said. "Do you have a picture?" Sora took out his locket. It was his most prized possession. It was a present that he always kept hidden. On the left, was a picture of Kairi, and on the right, was a picture of Riku.

"Ah, the one on the left with the magenta hair, I take it?" asked the clerk. He nodded. "Is she the special one?" Sora's cheeks flushed with color as he nodded in answer. "Hmmmm, let me think … I think I know exactly the one."

The lady disappeared into the back, and came back with a shimmering stone on a black string. "This stone is a very special stone called a Dreamgem. It has a very special powers, like if you hold it long enough, you can recall dreams. Beyond that, I don't know, but I do know that it has other powers. I've been waiting for someone like you to give this very rare gem to. I think that you might just be the person that deserves it. It is 50."

"Hmmm, 50 huh?" Sora considered it for a minute, then decided. "Kairi is worth it. I'll take it." Sora reached into the small bag, which was now hanging on his belt, and pulled out 50. The munny looked like little pearls with a silver – peachish color. He handed it to her, then took the necklace. By now, it was in a blue velvet box. Sora thanked the kind lady and stepped outside.

Almost as soon as he left the building, he heard a loud scream coming from the woods on the outskirts of the town. He put the necklace away, and he saw the Dream Mirror. The griffin had turned a black color. Sora glanced at Pluto, who gave a nod to the surprised boy. Sora stood up, and together, both boy and dog ran to the woods.

* * *

They soon arrived in the woods where they immediately saw what was wrong. There were three dark creatures attacking a young lady in a blue dress, with her blond hair up in a bandanna. The creatures were black, with a round body and head, two small antennae, and two large yellow eyes. Sora looked down at the dog, and said, " Are these Heartless?" The dog nodded, and almost immediately, the Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand. 

But soon afterwards, the three Heartless' attention turned to Sora and the Keyblade that he wielded in his hand. The creatures leaped at him, and he jumped back just in time. But then the creatures advanced towards him.

Instantly he turned around to run, and the creatures followed him. Suddenly, he turned around, and with great force, he cut down two of the shadows. The third sunk into the ground, and started coming towards him. As soon as it came up, Sora bashed it down, but not before he got a nasty cut on his leg.

He soon realized that the creatures had left money. He was very happy to find that he had earned 200. 'Yes' he thought as he realized that he had earned enough for the gloves for Riku, and then some.

Sora walked back to the young lady who had been the original target of the Heartless. He said to her, "Hi! Are you okay?"

The lady smiled at him, and said, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you. My name is Cinderella. My real name is just Ella, but when I clean out the fireplace, cinders get on my face. So eventually, my stepsisters started calling me Cinderella. May I ask your name?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you!" Sora said. "My name is Sora, and this here is Pluto," he said while patting the dog. "It was really nice chatting, but I really got to go," Sora said, eager to get the present for Riku.

Sora had turned to leave, but Cinderella called out, "Hey, wait!" Sora turned around. "You have to let me repay you for saving me."

"No, thanks," Sora said. "I really don't need anything. "But then he felt his stomach growl and he checked his watch. By now, it was almost dinner time. "But if you have some food, that would be awesome!"

"Well, I don't have any food here, but if you come by my house, I don't think Lucille will mind if I give you some.

"Okay," Sora said as he helped her up.

Cinderella looked at the boy's strange clothes, and she eventually said, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope."

"Well then where do you plan on staying tonight?"

"I was gonna stay at the hotel in town," Sora replied hesitantly. 'I wonder if they allow pets,' Sora thought as he glanced at the dog., who was currently getting his belly scratched by Cinderella.

Looking up, she said, "No, you can't stay there. It is much to over priced, especially with the all of the traffic here for the Prince's Ball tonight. You can sleep out in the barn, if you want."

"Alright, that sounds great!"

"Well come on, it's this way," Cinderella said.

"Can we stop in the town real fast? I need to get something for a person very close to me."

"Sure. It's on the way," Cinderella replied as they reached the edge of the town.

* * *

Sora was leaving the store with his newly purchased gift for Riku. The clerk had even wrapped it in the blue wrapping paper, with a big purple bow on top. 'Heh, heh,' Sora thought to himself as he walked out of the shop. 'Riku will definitely know it's from me now.' 

Sora found Cinderella by the dress shop, admiring the newest ball gowns. She seemed to have sadness in her eyes, like she wished she could have one. Sora walked up next to her and looked at a pink dress that seemed to have caught her eye. Not looking up, she said in a monotonous voice, "So, did you get your present?"

"Yeah, I did," Sora said while fingering the recently purchased package. "So, I heard you mention a ball, earlier. Are you going?"

"I wish I could, but I have to finish all of my work."

"Work? What kind of work?"

"Oh, you know, cooking, cleaning, scrubbing, sewing, and helping Corrimunde and Griselda with their ball gowns."

"Wait! Are you saying that your sisters are going to the ball, but you can't? That is totally unfair!" Sora cried out indignantly. "Don't they have any work to do!"

"Well, ever since my father died, I have been doing all of the work at home. And my stepmother said I couldn't go unless I had finished all of my chores," Cinderella said forlorn. "But I never finished."

"Well, I'll help you!" Sora said enthusiastically.

"That's sweet, but I don't have any time left to do it in. I guess I'll just have to go next time. Everybody knows that the prince never chooses a bride."

"Well maybe it's because he never met you. Anybody would be lucky to have you as a bride."

"Oh, your are so sweet. Whoever has you as a boyfriend is one lucky girl. But the prince would never choose me," Cinderella said. Then hearing Sora's stomach growl, she added, "Let's get home, so I can feed you. You must be starving if you stomach is growling that loudly."

"Aw, no. When I'm hungry my stomach is always this loud. But I am really hungry."

"We're almost there, so let's hurry."

* * *

They soon arrived at Cinderella's home. It was a small cottage, and the walk was lined with flowers and butterflies, adding color to the house. Sora thought it was beautiful. "Wow!" he exclaimed. 

"I know, isn't it beautiful? I still have some flowers from when my father was around. Follow me. The stable is back this way."

"Okay," Sora said, still transfixed by the beauty. The barn was slightly rundown, but still in good shape. There didn't seem to be any holes in the roof, and the walls seemed to be sound. He walked into the worn building, and was surprised to see a horse there, out in the open. Back on the island they didn't have horses, but he had read about them.

"This here is Gumdrop. He is a bit old, but he is harmless. Here is some sugar. Feed it to him." Sora took the offered sugar, and fed it to the horse. Gumdrop took it, then nibbled Sora's shirt affectionately. "Well, this is the barn. It could use a paint job, but it still does its purpose. You can sleep over there," Cinderella said, pointing to an area near the stables. "You can sleep on the hay. Don't worry, it's soft and comfy. I've spent plenty of nights in it. Bye Sora, I'll see you. I have to help my stepsisters get ready," Cinderella said as she left the barn.

"Well, I guess I'll get things ready for bed," Sora said as he took off his pack and started taking out blankets and pillows. Noticing the scratch on his leg, he took out a potion and put a little on it. The cut healed cleanly. "Well that's nice to know!" Sora exclaimed as he examined the spot where the cut used to be. Laying back in the hay, he said, "Well isn't this turning into an interesting adventure?" The dog only looked at him, and Sora smiled, as he pulled out the shimmering Dream Mirror.

* * *

**Author's Insane Babble:**

Well I hope you liked this chapter. It took forever to write! I wonder what will happen in the next chapter ... all I know is that I plan on using the Dream Mirror to see the dreams of the other islanders. I think I might already know what Wakka will dream about, hee hee hee. Check out my other story if you like yaoi!

**Princess FireFly :** Go to sleep!

**Plue Princess:** But it's only 2:46 am ... I have stayed up way later than that!

**Princess FireFly :** That is not the point! The point is that you are keeping me up all night!

**Plue Princess :** So? It's not like you don't keep ME up all night with your sleep talk!

**Princess FireFly :** I do not sleep talk!

**Plue Princess :** Yes, you do! Well, if you don't like me staying up all night, then I'll move in with Selphie!

**Princess FireFly :** Fine!

**Selphie:** (comes bouncing in) Yay! New roommate! The last two moved out! Said something about staying up to late and too much bouncing! Wow! Have you guys tried Starbucks' new drink! I've had four already! (bounces out)

**Plue Princess :** On second thought, maybe I'll stay here ... you're less hyper. (hears a crash outside)

**Selphie :** Opps!

**Princess FireFly :** Yup, definitely less hyper.

**Plue Princess and Princess FireFly:** Review and Ja Ne!

**Selphie:** I hope that wasn't to expensive, it looked pretty old.

**Plue Princess :** Great! Do you know what she broke?

**Princess FireFly :** ... (snores) But I couldn't possibly eat another one! Well, maybe one more!

**Plue Princess :** (shaking head) I told her she sleep talks! (storms out) Selphie what did you break!

**Selphie :** Ummmm ... , nothing!


	6. Dreams of Pleasure and a Nightmare

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**Dreams of Pleasure and a Nightmare**

**Disclaimer:  
**I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the charactersfrom it. But I will one day! Hey, look! Men in whitecoats and a big van are here! I wonder what they want ...!  
(5 minutes later) But I do own the plot and their dreams! (is carried off kicking and screaming)

**Author's Crazy Gibberish:  
**Okay, so thanks for all of the reviews! Your reviews keep me going and trying to get chapters done when I get bad cases of writer's block. Riku plushies go to: Inumaru 12, R.A. Pointless, Sai-ryo Aura Feana, and Duelwielder. So, here is the next chapter, and it has a lot of random things in the beginning, because of people's dreams. One of my personal favorites is Selphie's dream, but you can be the judge of that. Tell me which one was your favorite! Well review and Ja Ne! **Warning: Extremly Important note at the bottom!**

* * *

Sora's belly was full as he finished off the last of the soup that Cinderella had brought for the both of them. 

"Wow that was really good!" Sora said as he swallowed the last spoonful.

"Well I'm glad that you enjoyed it!" she said as she gathered up the bowls and stood up. "I leave you to your business for now, because I have to finish helping my step sisters get ready. Knowing them, it will probably be too tight, then too loose, then too tight again. Come on Gus, Jacques," Cinderella called as she talked to the two mice that she had brought with her to introduce to Sora. The two mice got inside her apron, and she walked away.

Sora had pulled out the Dream Mirror and the book that goes with it, and he had started reading. Apparently, the Dream Mirror had been created for the Guardian, as a way to help him/her communicate with others in the real world, while they under went training.

"So, I guess this was meant to happen," Sora said as he continued reading in the book. "Screen magic is the color the screen turns when viewing a person or animal. There are five main screen colors, Green, Blue, Red, Pink, and Purple. Green means they are feeling sad or depressed. Blue means that they are asleep. Red means somebody is angry or mad. Pink means that somebody is frightened or scared. Finally, purple means that they are happy or excited."

"So that is why the screen was different for the both of them," Sora said as he looked ahead. Just a couple of more chapters left. "The griffin on the handle is used as a warning for danger. When it turns black, Heartless are near. It also works vice-versa. When the griffin turns white, friends are near. When the griffin turns gray, it means both are near."

The last chapter was on portals, but he already knew how to make those. Closing the book, he put it away with a sigh. "I suppose I should probably tell the others that I'm not going to _die_, and that I have no intention of doing so anytime soon. So, I think I will visit Wakka first. What do you think?" Sora asked the dog, who in return just looked up at him and shrugged. "Well you're a lot of help!" Sora said sarcastically. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Recalling an old memory, he chose one where Wakka was first teaching him to play Blitzball. Wakka was the best player on the island, and he was kicking Sora's butt at it. Focusing on the memory, the mirror soon turned blue as it showed Wakka asleep in his bedroom.

It was a large room, with tons of posters of various Blitzball teams and players. He seemed to have mostly posters of the Besaid Aurochs, and he had many different Blitzballs spread around the room. The image faded and Wakka's dream showed on the screen.

* * *

It seemed to be the Blitzball finals world tournament, and Wakka and his team were competing. It was 15 seconds left and the score was tied 4 to 4. There was only one opportunity left and he was going to take it. He winded up the shot and performed a corkscrew shot. Almost there … goal! 3…2…1…0! It was the end of the game and the score was now 4 to 5. Wakka's team had won! Wakka was beaming as he left the Blitzball water sphere in Luca. Wakka accepted the trophy and grinned as everybody cheered his name. Exhausted, Wakka decided to head to the locker rooms to get ready for his other job of protecting the High Summoner Yuna. Quietly, Sora snuck up next to him and pulled him into the nearest supply closet he could. 

"What the –," Wakka exclaimed as he was looking in complete darkness. Sora reached up and pulled on the light switch and the small room instantly filled with light. "Sora? Man, how did ya get here brudda? Last I checked you were in a coma or somethin'. You had us all scared that you were gonna die, especially poor Kairi. So, how did you get here?"

"Umm, that's not important right now. Listen. This is a dream and you aren't really awake, but what I am about to say is true. Now I'm not really dead, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon. So don't worry about me, because I won't die, but I will be asleep for awhile."

"Well, that's a load off my mind. Just come back soon, ya?"

"Don't worry, I will soon," Sora said as he started sparkling blue. "Well, I got to go now, see ya!"

* * *

Sora reappeared through the portal he had opened a little disoriented. "That is going to take getting used to," Sora said as he sat down for a minute. "One down, five to go," he said aloud, because he had just decided to visit Kairi and give her the necklace that he had bought. "So, who next?" 

Sora decided on Selphie, and he tried to think of a memory. He finally selected a memory where Selphie had eaten a whole box of sugar cookies and was bouncing around for an hour at a beach party, until her sugar rush was over and she collapsed right on top of a blushing Tidus.

* * *

Sora found himself in a house that smelled very strongly of peppermint and gingerbread. He got up from a rather soft bed of cotton candy and walked over to a door that seemed to be a chocolate bar. He looked outside and noticed that many other houses had the same design. 

"Where is this place?" Sora asked himself aloud as he looked around at the strange place. It looked like he had fallen into a world that was made entirely of sweets. "Wait a second. Didn't I just enter Selphie's dream? Don't tell me. She dreams of a town full of sweets, doesn't she? Well, that's Selphie for you, isn't it?"

Sora continued walking through the strange town, looking for the strange girl that dreamed this weird place up. He saw houses made of different kinds of cookies and sweet breads. He stopped to rest at a licorice street post and tried to think of where Selphie was. But suddenly, he started hearing many different voices and music coming from up the sprinkle and icing paved street. Looking over, he saw what looked like a parade coming with many different parade floats made entirely, of course, of candy.

There were many different kinds but the biggest and most beautiful of them all seemed to have a small girl on top of it. There was a giant sign on the float made out of M&M's that read "Mayor of Candyland."

'Of course Selphie would be the mayor,' Sora thought as the large crowd of people came closer and closer. It had finally caught up, and when he saw Selphie, she was eating a huge cherry lollipop, staining her mouth red. 'Well, cherry always was her favorite flavor,' Sora mused as he saw the little girl's big smile.

"Hey, Selphie! Can I talk to you?" Sora called over the roaring crowd.

"Do you have an appointment, young one?" an old lady said to Sora as she blocked Sora's pathway to his friend.

"'Appointment?' What do you mean 'do I have an appointment?' She's my friend!" Sora cried indignantly to the lady.

"Nobody can talk to her wonderfulness Mayor Selphie without an appointment, so be gone!" the lady said to Sora while pushing him out of the way.

"No, Lady Yolanda, Sora is my friend. My friends don't need an appointment," Selphie said as she jumped off of her throne on top of the parade float. "So, Sora what did you want to talk about? Speakin' of which, how did you get here? You're not a ghost are you? You didn't die, right!" Selphie said, starting to freak out about how Sora might have died and that he was never coming back, and now his ghost was here to haunt her for not doing something.

"No, Selphie, relax. I didn't die, and I'm not a ghost. I don't plan on dieing soon, so stop freaking out, okay, Selphie?" Sora said while trying to get the girl to calm down.

"Oh, okay. But if you're supposed to still be asleep, how did you get here?"

"Uh, well, you're dreaming, Selphie. So, technically, I'm not really here. By the way, I think you ought to know, that you should really stop chewing on your pillows at night. It will ruin them," Sora told her as he started to glow blue.

"What do you mean, I chew on my pillows! I always eat a lollipop!" Selphie yelled as Sora disappeared.

* * *

"Well, that was really weird," Sora said as he came back through the portal. "So, who should I choose next? I think Tidus, Kairi, and then Riku. So, what about Tidus? What has he done …?" 

Sora thought for a minute, and he remembered the time Selphie had bet Tidus that he couldn't he eat his entire birthday cake by himself. Tidus, wanting to impress her, tried and got sick an hour later and was trying not to throw up in front of Selphie. Chuckling, Sora focused his memory on the Dream Mirror and saw Tidus sleeping in his room.

Like Wakka's it was full of different posters and such. But on his bedside table, were some pictures of … was that Selphie! 'Well that explains a lot,' Sora thought as the screen started showing what he was currently dreaming about. He seemed to be riding a horse in a field … but why? Sora held out the mirror towards the stable wall, and the portal to the dream world opened. He stepped through, and was instantly in Tidus' dream.

* * *

Sora found himself on a big white stallion that was currently galloping towards another rider further ahead. Assuming that it was Tidus, he rode closer and closer, trying to close the gap between him and his lovesick friend. He tried to get Tidus' attention but he just wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Finally catching up, he got his attention by pushing him off the horse he was on. Dismounting, Sora tried to help his friend up from the ground, laughing at how he was dressed in silly armor. 

Tidus, who couldn't see because of his armor, drew his sword and tried to hit whatever was coming closer to him, thinking it was the fiend who had kidnapped **HIS **Selphie. Sora blocked the attack with the Keyblade, which had appeared in his hand when Tidus had drawn his sword, and jumped back with surprise.

"Whoa, Tidus! Calm down! It's just me!" Sora yelled at his friend who had nearly sliced his leg off.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name!" Tidus demanded, still trying to get his helmet off without success.

"It's Sora. Come here and let me help you with that helmet," Sora said, cautiously advancing towards the struggling boy.

At the sound of footsteps, Tidus stepped back. "You can't be Sora! He's asleep! Unless … are you Sora's ghost? Did you die during the time we were away!" Tidus asked the "ghost" Sora. Apparently, Tidus had been spending too much time with Selphie.

"Tidus, relax! I'm not dead, you're dreaming. I am not going to die, but I am just sleeping, so stop freaking out. And let me get that helmet off!" Sora said to the currently thrashing about boy. He jumped on top of Tidus, and yanked off the head covering exposing a very confused boy with a bad case of helmet hair.

"Sora? Gods, I thought you were either a ghost or one of the people who kidnapped Selphie! So, what brings you here? And could you hurry, because I have to get to the castle before nightfall to save her!"

"Alright, I'll hurry. I just came to tell you that I'll be alright, so you don't have to worry about me, okay?" Sora said while trying not to laugh his head off. 'Who knew Tidus was so protective of Selphie?' he thought to himself.

"Aww, I wasn't worried. You are way too stubborn to die anyways. You're a fighter till the end."

"Umm, thanks, I think. Well I'll leave you to saving Selphie, I guess," Sora said as he started to sparkle blue.

"Bye, Sora!" he said as the boy disappeared into the sky.

* * *

Sora came out of the portal laughing as he thought about what an insane person Tidus could be when protecting Selphie. 'Talk about Selphie's knight in shining armor on a noble steed, huh?' Sora thought to himself. 

"So, it's Kairi next, huh?" Sora said. He looked at Pluto, who by now was asleep in the hay. Shaking his head, he remembered a memory of Kairi.

* * *

_**Flashback:**_

_It was Christmas on the island, and even though there were only six of them on the island, they still had huge parties and gave tons of homemade and store-bought gifts. Sora had already given and got many presents already, but there was only one person left to exchange gifts with. _

_He looked over at the Paupu tree, and saw Kairi sitting there, all alone. It was her first Christmas on the island, and she felt a little left out from the activities. She was watching the sunset over the horizon of the ocean that refracted the beautiful light from the sky. He went over to her, and said, "Hey, what are you doing here all alone, Kairi? You should come over and celebrate."_

"_Oh, I was just watching the beautiful sunset. I heard that there might be a meteor shower tonight, and I was hoping that it would be soon," Kairi said as Sora sat down next to her._

"_A meteor shower, huh? Do you mind if I watch with you? It sounds awesome! I've never seen one before."_

"_Sure, you can watch, Sora. So, I hear that you and Riku have been friends for a long time. What's he like?" Kairi asked._

"_He's great! We've been best friends ever since we were really little. I know he's a little intimidating at first, but he's a real sweet heart inside. He would never do anything to hurt me on purpose. Like I remember this one time -," Sora said as he looked down at Kairi. But just then, the meteor shower had started and he had to stop as he looked at the beautiful colors._

"_I'm a little scared of them. I've never seen a meteor up so close before. What if one of the meteors hits the island?" Kairi said while grabbing Sora's arm._

"_Don't worry, I'll always protect you, even if it costs me my life," Sora said, stirring up thoughts in Kairi's mind. _

'_That line, it sounds so familiar,' Kairi thought as Sora patted her back for reassurance. _

"_I believe you," she said, as she turned her attention to the wrapped present that she held in her hand. "Here, this is for you," Kairi told him, holding out the box. Sora took it and unwrapped it, and was surprised to find a keychain. It had a blue flower on the end and it was a beautiful gift. "It's my good luck charm, so don't loose it!" Kairi said as she got up from her spot on the tree. "Merry Christmas!"_

_**End Flashback

* * *

**_

The Dream Mirror turned blue, and it showed Kairi in her room. She had a very blue room, because it was her favorite color. Kairi was snuggled up underneath her covers, dreaming peacefully. The image faded and Kairi's dream took its place. He opened the portal and stepped through it.

* * *

"Kairi?" Sora said as he sat up. It was an incredibly dark room, and Sora frantically searched for a light. Giving up, he searched for a door, and was luckier, this time. His hand groped the handle and he turned it, exposing an eerie view. It was still dark, but the torches were enough to see by. 

Taking a torch down from the wall, he examined the room he had just been in. It seemed to be a supply closet, but it was filled with very weird things. Like a coffin and a cape … okay, maybe just a bedroom closet, but who in the world kept a mop in their bedroom closet?

Moving on, Sora found a stairwell and carefully went up the creaky stairs to a balcony. Looking down, he realized that he was far, _very_ far, up from the ground. He seemed to be in a mansion, but why would Kairi dream this place up? Sora asked himself various questions of the same nature, as he continued up the stairs from the balcony.

He walked for awhile, climbing up the stairs. After a long time, Sora slowly advanced towards a dead end, and looked for another way through. There was a long while before he finally gave up, and with a sigh, he sat down on the floor, trying to remember if there was another pathway from the way he took. Not remembering any, he eventually leaned back and lifted his head to the ceiling.

"Well that would have been nice to know," Sora said as he examined the door in the ceiling. Standing, he reached up his hand and pushed away the door, revealing the outside. He climbed through the opening and gazed around in wonderment at what looked like the top of the mansion. He noticed movement and turned around in time to see a cloak disappear through a door.

Curious, Sora followed it. He opened the door to witness his Kairi in the arms of another man, bound hand and foot with a gag in her mouth. She struggled violently against her captor, trying everything she could to break away from the pale man holding her. He was wearing a cape and black suit, and had very strong hands that gripped the young girl mercilessly, undisturbed by her wild thrashing.

"Hey!" Sora yelled, coming out of the shock that had gripped him when he first saw Kairi like this. "Let her go!" The Keyblade appeared in his hand as he prepared to attack.

"I don't think I will, young one," he said while grinning evilly, showing two extremely sharp teeth. "She is young and has a rare blood type. She will serve wonderfully as my dinner," he said. Misreading Sora's stunned silence, he added, "You see, I'm a vampire. Vampires drink people's blood, and your little girlfriend here is a perfect specimen. This girl will be one of the most tasty blood 'donors' ever! She will be mine, and there's nothing your frail little mortal body can do about it! Mwuhah, hah, hah!" he laughed, as the boy formed a death glare.  
"I said, let her go!" Sora screamed as he charged towards the immortal holding his beloved in his cold hands. But at the last second, he held Kairi up, using her as a human shield. There was fear in her eyes as Sora stopped at the last second and stepped back, very surprised. Quickly recovering, he yelled, "That's low you evil, son-of-a b-."

Cutting off Sora mid-insult, he smirked and said, "Low as it may be, it works, because you won't run your precious lover through! So now, as fun as it has been, I must leave you, because I'm getting hungry, and my meal is ready," he said as he grinned maliciously as Kairi, who continued to struggle. He pointed at Sora, an evil look in his eyes.

He uttered a couple of words underneath his breath, and immediately, Sora was blown outside and he slammed into the opposite wall. He stood up, but by then the creature had walked outside. He mumbled two more words, and Sora soon realized that he couldn't move. He fell on the ground as his knees buckled underneath him. "Deal with that, human boy!"

"Why you sleezy, scum bag!" Sora yelled as the vampire removed his cape to reveal two very creepy wings.

"Oh, shut up! You're lucky I'm not eating you too!" the vampire said as he rose into the air.

Kairi, who had managed to wriggle the gag out of her mouth, screamed and yelled down, "Sora! Help me!"

"Kairi!" Sora yelled back as she started to disappear towards the sky. "I'll save you, just hang on a little longer! I'll save you, I promise!"

Kairi continued screaming as the vampire dropped down, heading straight for the ground. He landed with a thump, and the downstairs door creaked open. Hearing this, Sora struggled with all his might, but still he couldn't move.

'Hey, wait a second! If this is a dream, then it's controlled by a person's will,' he said, remembering something from the book. 'So, if I want to be free, all I have to do is will myself to want it.' He grew quiet, and pushed all of his thoughts out of his head. He thought of what he wanted, and concentrated his entire mind on that. 'Focus, focus, focus,' Sora thought and he slowly felt himself grow less stiff. It was slow at first, but it grew faster and faster until he could move again.

Springing up, he yelled, "Yes! I'm free! Now to get that stupid, evil, repulsing, piece of -," Sora said, as he was cut off by a loud thump from downstairs. Remembering his current crisis, he took off running down the stairs.

He arrived some minutes later in the room that he was in earlier. Seeing a room with a light coming from it, he figured that it must be the room that Kairi was in. Bursting into the small room, he saw Kairi on the ground, right next to the vampire. Turning around in surprise, he grinned maliciously at the boy who had a vicious pout on his face.

"Well, aren't you the little Houdini," the vampire sneered.

"Who? Never mind. What did you do to Kairi? I swear, if you hurt her, I'll rip you apart, piece by disgusting piece," Sora said, a hateful look in his eyes.

"Oh, relax, you naïve little boy," the vampire said, eyes twinkling with delight at how mad he was making Sora. "I didn't hurt her, just knocked her out. The little dive I took was a bit scary, I think. Don't worry; she's not the first to have it happen to her. She'll be waking up soon, anyways. But for now, I'll have to take care of you!" The vampire stood up, and advanced towards the Keyblade and its master.

"I'll never let trash such as you beat me!" Sora roared as he charged at the creature. The vampire pointed at the young boy and started to murmur some magic words. But he was instantly cut off as Sora slammed the Keyblade down on his head, breaking his thoughts and disorienting him for a minute. Sora took the opportunity to smack him a couple of more times before the creature regained his senses.

"Why, you insolent brat," he screamed, all amusement gone from his face. "At first it was entertaining, but now it's just annoying!" The vampire pointed his finger and lightning came out of it, nearly hitting Sora as he dodged out of the way. "You'll pay for what you did to me!" He ran over to the wall and grabbed a staff off of the wall. "Now, you'll get it!"

"As if," Sora said as he ran towards the vampire. The vampire raised his staff and Sora just barely missed the lightning that came out of it. But while he was distracted by the first one, another was launched out, hitting Sora squarely on the chest. He collapsed on the ground, not moving as his vision dimmed.

"You know, you foolish human, I think I'll wait to eat your wench when she wakes up. It is so much fun to feel them writhing underneath you as you suck their tasty blood! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," he mocked as he stood over the motionless boy.

That infuriated Sora to the point where his blood was boiling, but he just didn't have the strength to get back up. No matter how he struggled to wake up, he just couldn't find the strength within himself to get up. He felt lost in darkness as his eyesight turned black. He felt like he was floating in darkness, but he saw a light as he slowly drifted into its depths. He reached for the light, and did all he could to reach. As he reached it, he saw Riku, with his smirk. He looked at Sora like he always did when Sora was about to give up.

A mischievous grin on his face, Riku said, "Giving up already? Come on, Sora! I thought you were stronger than that!"

"No, I will never give up," Sora yelled as he sprung back up. He felt as if an extinguished fire had suddenly been lit, unfreezing his paralyzed body. "I will never just lie there, and let you win," Sora bellowed as he suddenly leaped up, finding himself in the really world. He looked down, and saw the vampire bending over a waking up Kairi.

"Leave her alone!" Sora hissed as he smacked the blood sucker across the back of the head rather hard. "Step away from Kairi!" he said as he hit him again.

"You just won't give up, will you?"

"Nope. Never will."

"Then I guess I'll have to finish you here and now, you foolish kid!"

"Bring it on!" Sora said as the vampire rose into the air. He fired lightning at Sora, but missed, as Sora dodge rolled out of the way. He quickly jumped towards him and hit the life leech out of the air. He lay on the ground dead, as Sora prodded him with the Keyblade. "Who's foolish now?" Sora taunted the unmoving vampire.

Walking over to Kairi to make sure that he hadn't hurt her in anyway, he called, "Kairi? Kairi, are you okay? Come on Kairi, open your eyes!"

Hearing a familiar voice calling out to her, she gently fluttered her eyes open and looked around bleary eyed. "S- Sora? Is that you?"

"Kairi," Sora said as he hugged her, relieved that she was okay. She tried to stand up, but she buckled as her knees gave away from shock. "Shhh, Kairi. Don't stand up. Let's just sit here, for a minute," Sora said as he pulled her into his arms once more. Feeling a lump in his pocket, he pulled out the necklace that he had bought for Kairi. "Here, this is for you," Sora said as he handed it to her. She opened the box and gasped at what was inside.

"Sora, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed as she pulled it out of the box. She put it on, and it started to glow as Kairi unconsciously tapped into its unknown powers. She looked at the various cuts Sora had acquired throughout his fight, and gasped as she saw a particularly nasty one on his chest. "Here, let me help you!" Kairi told him as she examined the cut closer.

"I must've gotten that when I got hit by the lightning," Sora said as he winced in pain. "It's not that bad, so don't fuss."

"Yeah, right. It is too that bad! If it had been one inch over, you would be dead right now!" Kairi scolded as she put a piece of cloth on the cut to clean it. As she swiped over the cut, it healed cleanly, without leaving a scar. "Wow! How did that happen?" Kairi said, shocked.

"This must be what that lady was talking about when she gave me the necklace," Sora said as he looked at where the cut had been. "She said it had other powers, but she didn't say what."

"Well I guess that's that, huh?" Kairi said as she stood up. Together, Sora and Kairi walked up to the balcony and looked over at the beautiful moon. "You know, Sora, as I was lying there, I knew that you would save me. I didn't know why, but I had this feeling that you would come for me, would keep me safe."

"Don't worry, Kairi. I will always come for you," Sora told her as he started to sparkle blue. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, just a light brush as he vanished into thin air.

* * *

Sora emerged from the portal and collapsed on the hay, exhausted from the nights work. He laid back in the softness of the hay, and felt the cool night breeze on his sweat soaked face. Pluto, who was looking at him with concern because of his torn up clothes, came over and started to lick his face. 

"It's okay, boy! Take it easy!" Sora said as he rummaged around for the blue package. Finding it, he said, "Well, just one more person left. Riku."

* * *

**Authors' Babble:  
**So, was that a long enough chapter for y'all? Well, was it? I didn't get to put in as much of the plot as I had originally wanted, because it was supposed to be in Riku's dream. But the chapter was already too long, so I'm going to put it in the beginning of the next chapter, and then maybe move on with the story a little bit. In the next chapter you will find out what Riku promised Sora, and why he isn't the Keyblade Master, also Sora gets to fight his first world boss. yays. I think that it will be fun! Beyond that, I don't know yet, but I'm working on it! So, what did you all think of everybody's dreams? Like I said earlier, Selphie's was my favorite, because it seemed to fit that she would dream about a land made of candy. It might take a little longer to get the next chapter, but I'll try my best to get it up! Don't hurt me! (gets hit by a tomato) Right. So review and Ja Ne. Watch for the next chapter! 

**P.S. Very Important! I will be chaning my penname to Riku's Kitsune Mate! That will be my new penname, because my friend decided to move her stories to a new one!**


	7. Memories, Dreams, and Heartless oh my!

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**Memories, Dreams, and Heartless-oh my!**

**Author'sWeird Talk:  
**Hey, y'all, and sorry that this chapter is a little short. The evil writer's block kept cpaturing me in it's grasp! I've been writing poetry, so please read it! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Inumaru 12, Infrared Rayz, Aeshma-Daeva, MagicianCyborg, R.A. Pointless, Duelwielder, and last but not least, Sai-ryo Aura Feana! Your reviews made me feel all special, and kept me forcing myself to write this story, even though the evil writer's block kept trying to get me! So for all of you reviewers and non-reviewers, here is the next chapter! Read and review! And yes, I do accept annonymous reviews!

* * *

**Starting from where I left off:**

Sora stood up and recalled a memory of him and Riku together when they were young. He finally chose one a little bit before Kairi came. They were about five and six.

_**Flashback:**_

_Sora and Riku were exploring a new cave on top of the island. All of the other kids on the island had been too afraid to come. They had finally finished exploring it, when they decided to leave and go back down. They had just started their ascent down the little mountain with Sora in the lead, and Riku behind. It was a very narrow part of the pathway, and they had to be extra careful. The wall was kinda crumbly, so you always had to watch your step. Sora took one step, then another. The ground looked solid enough, so he took another step, but the wall crumbled away as soon as he put his weight on it! Sora went tumbling through, falling down the mountain at an alarming speed. _

"_Soraaaaaa!" Riku cried, still up on the mountain, scared for his friend's life as Sora slowly went out of view. Sora fell, screaming all the way down, worried that when he hit the bottom he would die. He was inches from the ground and he collided with a loud thump, and his vision went black._

_When Sora finally came to, he was lying on his bed with his leg in a cast and his arm in a sling. He had bandages all over his head and body. He could see Riku asleep in the chair that he had moved by the bed. _

"_R –Riku? Is that you? What happened?" Sora asked, trying to move to a sitting position._

_Riku, who had woken up when he heard Sora call his name, immediately sprung up to stop Sora from trying to move. "Sora, don't move. You're to hurt! You fell from the mountain and fell on the beach. It's a wonder that you didn't die!"_

"_I-I fell? Oh, yeah, I guess I did. How long was I out?" Sora asked, wondering how he had a survived a fall that huge._

"_Two days. I'm so sorry Sora. I shouldn't have made you go on that mountain. I'm so, so sorry," Riku said, tears welling up in his eyes._

"_Oh, don't be sorry Riku! It was my own choice to go up on the mountain! You didn't make me do anything that I didn't want to. Don't be sorry," Sora said, putting his hand on Riku's arm. _

"_Oh, Sora!" Riku said, giving him a tight hug, careful of his injuries. "I'll never let you get hurt again! I promise you! Not ever again! You are my best friend, and I'll never ever let you hurt like this again."_

"_Thanks, Riku," Sora said, giving him a hug back._

_**End Flashback

* * *

**_

Sora saw the mirror glow green and he looked into the mirror and saw Riku asleep in his room, in a restless slumber. He seemed to have fallen asleep looking at a book, but Sora couldn't tell right away. A closer look revealed that it was a photo album full of pictures of Sora and Riku doing things together, like swimming and hiking and stuff. The sheets to Riku's bed seemed to be soaked, like Riku was crying as he looked at the pictures.

'Of course Riku would be crying now,' Sora thought to himself. 'He never did like to show any signs of weakness to other people. Eventually the screen glowed blue, and it showed Riku's dream. Riku seemed to be in a very large castle, similar to the one from his dream the night before. He was wearing strange clothes, and he looked somewhat, lost … Sora opened the portal and entered, leaving the barn behind.

Sora looked around at the place he was in, and it seemed to be a giant library. He walked around for awhile, and eventually found a door. He opened the door, and found himself in a large room, with a fountain and lots of statues. He saw some elevators going up and down, so he jumped onto one and started going up. Jumping onto another platform, he realized that he was on a different level. Sora went to the side and looked down. Shock took over him as he saw Riku with a duck and dog.

"Goofy, do you think Sora is okay?" the duck asked in a hard to understand voice.

'Sora? But I'm Sora! Why wouldn't I be okay? And who are they?' Sora asked himself.

"Uhh … I don't know. I'm sure he is, he would never be the kind to take things lying down," the dog called Goofy said. "Hey Donald, remember that time in Wonderland when Sora stood up for Alice, even though he could have gotten beheaded by that Queen?"

"I remember that! He almost got us killed looking all over for clues, and then that fight with the cards," Donald said back.

"Enough! He approaches," Riku said in a cruel voice.

'That can't be Riku! He sounds almost … well … evil …,' Sora thought woefully. Soon he heard a commotion outside. It sounded like some roars and a wooden sword smacking something. Then he heard a loud noise and the sound stopped. Sora looked at Riku, who suddenly disguised himself. He sent a shadow out and then disappeared. Suddenly the door burst open, and in came a boy with brown hair and blue eyes. 'Is that … me?' Sora asked himself as he looked at the boy. Along with him was a giant animal wearing a cape.

The creature said, "Be on your guard. They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" The shadow sent earlier assumed the shape of a girl wearing a large yellow ball gown. "Belle?" the creature yelled, and he took after it. But it turned back into a shadow and went out the door, the creature yelling it's furry along the way. When the creature got outside, the door slammed shut, leaving Sora alone in the giant room. Only then, did Riku remove the magical cloak that shielded him and his two companions.

"Quit while you can," Riku said, looking at the boy.

"No. Not without Kairi," the other Sora replied.

'Wait! What's wrong with Kairi?' Sora asked himself.

"The darkness will destroy you," Riku said as he changed his outfit. It was really creepy.

"You're wrong, Riku," the other boy said. "The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It will never die!"

"Really … Well, we'll just see about that!" Riku yelled as he fired a Dark Firaga at Sora. He closed his eyes, waiting for the ball of doom to end his life. But at the last second, Goofy stepped in front of the way, blocking it with his shield.

"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" he said, defending Sora.

"You'd betray your king?" Riku asked with a sneer.

'King … does he mean King Mickey?' the above Sora thought.

"Not on your life! But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together!" Goofy said. Then, looking at the duck, he said, "See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"

Then the duck looked guilty and said, "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together." He ran over to Sora, and said, "Well, you know … All for one and one for all."

"I guess you're stuck with us, Sora," the dog said, looking at Sora.

"Thanks a lot … Donald, Goofy," the other Sora said, his eyes focused on the floor.

"How will you fight without a weapon?" Riku smirked to the younger boy.

'What's wrong with Riku?' Sora thought to himself as he looked at the scene unfolding before him.

"I know now that I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart," the boy said.

"Heh. Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" Riku mocked at the other Sora.

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all of the friends I've made. I've become a part of their hearts just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then … if they don't forget me … then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon," the other Sora said as a wooden sword appeared in his hand. "My friends are my power!"

"Wh –wha," Riku said as the Keyblade pulled from his hand and went to the other boy. Riku pulled out his other sword and charged, trying to hurt the other boy.

'Why is Riku acting this way?' Sora thought as he watched the battle below him. The other Sora yelled 'Sonic' and the battle finally ended. Riku looked at Sora in surprise until his clothes changed again, and he ran off before anybody could say a word.

Suddenly, the world started to change, the old one fading into another. Sora found himself on a large beach. Looking around, he saw that it was very similar to the one back home. He started walking along the beach. Soon he came upon a boy standing on the beach, eyes to the water.

Curiously, Sora walked towards the boy. He was wearing a blindfold, and he had silver hair. It looked suspiciously like Riku, but he had to be sure. He went over, and was about to tap on the boy's shoulder, when the boy suddenly sprung up and drew his sword.

He swung at Sora, and would have sliced right through him, if Sora hadn't blocked with the Keyblade. Sora jumped back, poised to attack. The masked boy leapt at Sora, who was dodging the assault. "Riku! Is that you? It's me! Sora!" he yelled, rolling out of the way.

"Impossible," the boy said. "Sora's been missing for years! The time he closed the door on me and the king was the last time I saw him. He never came back, so I don't appreciate you trying to be him. I loved Sora. He was like a brother to me, and I lost him! So for tarnishing his memory, I will kill you!" he screamed tears leaking from underneath the blindfold. He swung at Sora, almost hitting him as Sora blocked.

"No, really! It's me, it's Sora!" he yelled getting closer and closer to a cliff wall. "I don't want to hurt you, Riku! Just listen to me!" Sora was dangerously close to the cliff wall and he was going to get pinned.

"Enough lies!" the older boy yelled. The younger boy in front of him tripped and fell onto the ground. He started to crawl backwards on the ground whimpering until he ran into the cliff. He was pinned between the enraged boy and the wall, and he could see no way out.

"Rikuuuu!" he cried as he shut his eyes, waiting for the boy with an upraised sword to bring it down and kill him. Tears were streaming down his face, as he waited. And waited. Sora slowly cracked an eye open, and saw that the other boy was shaking. He seemed to be having a duel within his self, like one side was trying to stop him, while the other wanted to bring the sword down on top of Sora. He eventually dropped his sword, and collapsed on the ground. Apparently the side that was trying to stop him, won.

Sora cautiously crawled over to the boy, making sure that he kept an eye on the boy's sword hand. He finally reached the blindfolded boy, who was quietly sobbing. He put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, and the boy's sobbing started to quieted.

"Your touch feels … so familiar …," the boy said. "And you smell so much like him. I never thought I'd smell that scent again … Could you really be him?" the boy said.

"Why do you wear that blindfold," Sora asked, trying to comfort the older boy.

"For repenting," was all he said.

"Repenting? For what?" Sora asked curiously.

"For all of the terrible things I did to you and to all of the princesses. I hurt you all. Especially you, Sora," Riku said melancholy. Sora reached up to remove the blindfold, and the silver haired boy let him. He took it off, revealing two saddened eyes, the color of the sea after a storm. "Sora … is it really you?"

"Yes it's me, Riku," Sora said, giving his old friend a hug. "Riku, I think you should know that you're dreaming. I just wanted to come to tell you that even though I'm sleeping, I won't die anytime soon. Are you okay? Riku?"

"I'm so relieved that you aren't going to die, Sora," Riku said, hugging Sora back. "So, if you're asleep, then how are you here? I mean not that I don't want you here, but …"

"It's okay. I have to do some training right now, so I can become a Keyblade Master. I guess I'm supposed to learn how to battle these things called the Heartless. They can be really vicious. I just didn't want you to worry about me. I promise that I'll come back to you. "

"Thank you, Sora. Now I won't worry, because we have our promise, so you can come back."

Sora reached into his pocket, and pulled out the blue package. "Here, I got this for you, Riku," Sora said as he handed him the package, shooting off one of his trademark grins.

"What is it?" Riku asked as he accepted the package.

"Well open it and find out, silly," Sora said. Riku opened it and took out the leather gloves.

"S-Sora, you got these for me? I love them!" Riku exclaimed.

"Glad you do Riku," Sora said as he started to glow a blue color. "Riku, I have to go, but don't worry, I'll visit you again."

"Don't you dare forget about me, Sora!" Riku yelled after the boy.

* * *

Sora arrived in the barn just as the bell started ringing. It was 9:00. 

"Hey, wasn't that ball supposed to start at nine?" Sora asked to no one in particular.

"Yes, it is," a kind voice from behind him said. Sora turned around and saw Cinderella entering the barn. "My stepsisters and stepmother have left, so do you want to come in for a little while?"

"Sure," Sora said as he walked over to the older girl. They walked inside the large house, and Sora was instantly greeted by comfortable warmth. Sora walked over to the table and sat down, meanwhile looking around at the insides of the house. It was very clean, and everything was in order. But there seemed to be something missing, but he couldn't tell what. It was something that every house he had ever seen had but what? Then it hit him like a pile of bricks. There weren't any books in sight, and the only pictures he could see were those of these two girls, who he assumed was Cinderella's stepsisters.

"Umm, where are all the books?" Sora asked confused. "I don't see any around here."

"Oh, my stepsisters and stepmother don't read much ever since my father passed away. He loved books, and I did too. So when he passed away, I gathered as many of the books I could before they got rid of them all," Cinderella concluded sadly.

"That's horrible!" Sora exclaimed indignantly.

"No, it's okay, really," she said, putting on a smile. "I only wish I could go to the ball." They sat in silence for a couple more minutes, when suddenly, they heard a crash outside, and they both ran outside to investigate. They arrived outside, and they saw an old lady sitting on a bench, in a blue robe.

"Hello. I am your fairy godmother, Cinderella. I have come to help you fulfill your wish," the lady said, while standing up.

"My-my wish?" Cinderella asked.

"Yes, your wish to go to the ball," she told her while taking out a wand. "You have been very kind to all, and you have always done what you are told without argument, even though you know that it's unfair. I think you more than deserve a night out, Cinderella."

"So how do you plan on helping her," Sora asked suspiciously.

"Magically, of course," she said. "Now stand over there, and we'll get you a dress. Good. Now, turn around slowly." Cinderella did as bid, and the lady called out, "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo!" The dress that Cinderella was wearing turned into a beautiful ball gown. It was white, and it seemed to sparkle every time she moved.

"That's cool!" Sora yelled as he saw the transformation.

"That's done. Now all we need is a way to get you to the ball," she said, thinking. "I know! Cinderella, go out to the garden and get the loveliest pumpkin you can find."

"I'll do that!" Sora said as he started walking out to the garden. He searched for a little, and found a large, good looking pumpkin. He picked it up, and underneath, he saw two big yellow eyes. Not believing his eyes, Sora blinked, and the eyes were gone. "That was weird," Sora said quietly to himself.

"Sora is everything okay?" a voice called to him.

"Fine," Sora called back, picking up the pumpkin and heading towards the gate. He looked back one more time, and then left the garden.

* * *

They were on there way, in a carriage that the fairy godmother had created using the pumpkin. It was being pulled by a four white horses, all of which had been currently been mice that Cinderella had helped. The Fairy Godmother had warned Cinderella to be out of the ballroom by midnight, because that was when the magic ran out. By now, it was 10:00. Sora had come along in case of danger, because he had this feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

They were about halfway to the castle by now, and everything seemed to be moving along smoothly until … the carriage suddenly came to a stop, and they could here whinnies of fright coming from the horses. Sora jumped out of the carriage, Keyblade in hand. He looked at what had scared the horses so badly, and he was stunned for a full minute before the giant Heartless in front of him attacked.

The Heartless seemed to be a giant snake, with two big yellow eyes, exactly like the kind he had seen in the garden. It had razor sharp scales, and it opened its mouth, revealing two very big, sharp teeth. The snake slammed its tail in front of Sora, barely missing him as he jumped back. Coming back to his senses, he told the carriage driver, a former dog, to hurry and get her out of here while he held the snake at bay. Being an obedient dog, the carriage took off, heading towards the castle.

Sora turned his attention back to the snake who was trying to wrench his tail free from the ground. Sora used the Keyblade to whack the snake, and it only seemed to make it angrier. He ran back as the snake snapped at him with its large mouth, nicking Sora on the leg. He cried out in pain, but otherwise kept running, trying to find a safe place to hide so he could think. Ducking into a part of the thicket, he thought of a way to try and beat the snake. Hitting it obviously wouldn't work; all that did was make it angrier. He needed a miracle.

Sora was at a loss. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly, he felt a slight rumbling in his pocket. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out one of the King's cards. He remembered what he had read in one of the books …

_To use a King card, simply hold it above your head, and wait for it to activate. It will only activate if you are in a life or death situation. Use wisely._

Sora looked at the now glowing card, and jumped out of the place he was hiding in. He saw the very P.O.'d snake, and raised the card above his head. There was a blinding flash, and Sora had to close his eyes from the brightness. When he opened them again, the King was there, and everything seemed to be … frozen.

"Hello, Sora," the King said. "You called?"

"Heh, heh, hi Your Highness," Sora said with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, the snake is being a little … tough to say the least," he said, feeling the cut on his leg.

"Hmmm, I know this kind of Heartless. They have sword resistant scales. You need magic to defeat them."  
"Magic? Well, I don't know if you noticed this, but I can't do magic!" Sora said, a little sarcastically.

"I can help with that," Mickey said as he pulled out a little wand and a hat. (A/N: You know, like the one in Fantasia!) He put on the hat, and then pointed the wand at Sora. He said a few words, and then Sora started having a funny feeling.

"I … I feel kinda weird," Sora said as he tried to shrug off the disorientation he was feeling. It felt like a part of him he never knew he had been suddenly being unlocked.

"You know, Sora, everybody has the ability to do magic. Kairi just learned how to do healing spells, thanks to you. Even Riku could if he felt like it," Mickey said as he took off the hat and put away the wand.

"What? Riku?" Sora asked, surprised.

"Didn't you know? Riku was supposed to be the Keyblade Master, but something went … wrong," Mickey said, looking slightly sheepish.

"Huh? When!"

"Sora, do you remember when Riku hit his head trying to save you from being drowned during that storm?" Mickey asked, recalling a time when they were younger, and a storm had arrived unexpectedly while Sora and Riku had been out sailing. Riku had hit his head, and as soon as they had reached the shore, he had passed out. He was out for two days.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Sora asked.

"Well, while he was out, he went through something similar to you. The Keyblade choose him, but then, it chose another. That other, was you. We investigated, and we realized that there was too much darkness in his heart. Remember how this was shortly after Kairi came, and you started spending a lot of time with her? Well, he might not have shown it, but he was jealous. There was even a point where he tried to get rid of you, for awhile, at least. This is why the Keyblade left him, and chose you."

"But wait a second, why doesn't he remember?" Sora asked, truly interested.

"I'm not allowed to tell you," Mickey said as he started to turn around. "I have to go, but remember, you can use magic now. Use it wisely, for you can only do so much at one time. Bye, Sora!" There was a blinding flash, and when he opened his eyes, the snake had raised its tail, and Sora rolled out of the way just as it hit the ground.

'Okay, how do you use it?' Sora asked himself as he ran. 'Alright, let's try fire!' he told himself. "Fire!" he screamed while aiming the Keyblade at the snake. A small fireball emitted from the tip, hitting the snake. It hissed it's furry, and but it seemed to work. "Fire!" Sora yelled again. Another fireball came out, and the snake disappeared as a large pink heart rose into the sky.

Munny came raining out of the place where the snake had been, and Sora quickly gathered it up. He got 500 from the snake, making him grin in happiness. Sora collapsed on the ground, exhausted. He lay there awhile, before he heard a bell ring. Eleven times to be exact. Another thought hit Sora as he realized this. He sprung up, running in the direction the carriage had gone. 'What if there was more than one Heartless!' he thought. He soon arrived at the castle, and saw the carriage parked safely in the circle of carriages.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief, and carefully entered the room. He saw her dancing with the prince, as everyone else gawked. Three in particular were glaring. Sora assumed that they were her stepsisters and stepmother, and Sora smirked, happy that they were unhappy. "Well all's well that ends well," Sora said as he left. He walked outside to wait for midnight.

* * *

**Authors Weird Talk:  
**So, what did you all think? Was it good? It took forever to write, because every time I started to write it, I'd get writer's block every few paragraphs! I took some time off, and started playing Kingdom Hearts … again. It helped me get over the evil writer's block, as well as writing some poetry and stuff. If you want, you can read it, because it should be out with this. Please read it and review, because I'm not sure if my poetry is good or not. It won't take long to read, so please read it! And, as always, REVIEW! Gotto go, Ja Ne! 


	8. You Can Talk!

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**You Can Talk!**

**Author's Randomness:**

Hey y'all! Whew! I barely got this chapter done! I finished it, and then posted it. I was really busy this week, what with 4th of July and all. Then after that I got the Inuyasha first season box set … and well, let's just say that if you get up really early then stay up really late you can watch them all! It was so romantic! I love Inuyasha! I got new plushies! Yays! Of the Inuyasha ones I have Inuyasha (of course), Shippo, Kagome, and Miroku! Yays! This chapter is dedicated to Inumaru 12, R.A. Pointless, MagicianCyborg, Duelwielder, and Sai-ryo Aura Feena! Yays! (Hands out Sora plushies) Thanks! I'll treasure your reviews always! So, on you read!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! I don't own anything, not even my mind! I sold it to my friend for a cookie, she sold it to Ansem for Riku, and I bought him from her for a doughnut, but he escaped! Darn it! I had such fun plans for him …

**Riku:** (comes out of his hiding place in a closet) Is she gone?

* * *

Sora awoke to the sound of bells, pulling him from a dream of him and a big box of Sora Snacks (A/N: Think Scooby Snacks, only for Sora and Riku. Lol **:D** Thanks Merodi Tora!). He had fallen asleep in the carriage, waiting for Cinderella to come out. The brunette soon realized that it was midnight. He sleepily got up, and then a thought hit him hard. 

"Crud! It's midnight!" Sora yelled as he ran over to the steps. He saw Cinderella running down the steps, trying to get away, as the prince chased after her, telling her to wait. She hurried down the steps, and on the way, one of her glass slippers fell off.

"Huh? My slipper!" Cinderella said, going back to get her slipper.

"There's no time!" Sora yelled as he grabbed her arm. He pulled her into the carriage, and it took off, swiftly leaving the castle behind. They hurried away, and when the bell tolled the final ring, the magic ran out, and everything turned back to the way it was. The carriage became a pumpkin once more, making both boy and girl tumble on the ground. They got on the side of the road, and gathered up the mice and the dog. Cinderella was in her old dress once more, but she was missing a shoe.

"I'll never be able to get home on just one foot, and the ground has too many rocks and wood splinters," Cinderella said as she put the mice in her apron.

"Let me think … I got it!" Sora said. He pulled off his shirt, and ripped off the sleeves of the white t-shirt that he wore underneath his regular clothes. He wrapped the cloth around her foot, and they set off towards her home. "So … how was the ball?" Sora asked as the walked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, Sora, it was wonderful! We danced, and we talked … it was so … so … romantic!" Cinderella said, her eyes seeming distant as she remembered the moments she had spent with the prince.

"Well, did he ask you to be his bride? If he liked you that much, than he should have proposed. Isn't that what this ball was for?" Sora asked curiously.

"Umm … no, he didn't propose or anything, but then again, I did kind of have to run out on him. I didn't even get a chance to tell him my real name …"

"What! Why not!" Sora asked.

"Never got the chance," she said simply. By now they had arrived at the house, and they entered the dark rooms. "Sora, you should probably go back to the barn, because my stepsisters and stepmother should be home soon. Here, you can use this candle," she said, handing him a lit candle. He took it and went outside, and laid out a pillow in the hay. After today he was exhausted. He lay down, and went to sleep.

The next day, Sora woke up, hay imbedded in his hair. He stumbled outside, and was face to face with a much older woman. "So, you're the boy who is staying with us. You don't look like much, but nonetheless, if you're going to stay here you have to work to earn your keep."

"Uh … okay," Sora said, confused at the way this lady was treating a guest. 'Aren't you supposed to be nice to someone who is staying at your home?' Sora thought as she thrust a bucket and brush into his hands.

"You can start by scrubbing the walkway out front. After that, you can make lunch, assuming that you can cook," she said, walking back to the house.

"Nice lady … NOT," Sora muttered as he walked out to the front walkway. He found a hose, and he filled up the bucket. He took the bucket over to the walkway and started scrubbing the walkway. "I wonder what Kairi and Riku are doing right now …"

* * *

Riku was sitting on the paupu tree, looking out at the ocean as he usually did. Today was more because a lack of sparring partners, seeing as Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie were too scared to fight him. Besides, Sora was the only one who could actually keep up with him anyways. He was the only one who knew to dodge the attack when Riku did his infamous jump up from his back trick. Riku sighed, and slumped lower on the tree, bored out of his mind. He was wearing his usual outfit of a yellow shirt and blue pants, but on his hands were a pair of black leather gloves …

* * *

Kairi sat in the secret cave that only Sora and she knew about. She was busy scribbling on the walls, similar to the kind of designs that were on the cave walls of Riku and Sora's secret cave. She decided to take a break, and she leaned on the back of the wall. She had just finished a drawing of Sora, and now she was exhausted. She examined the artwork, while fiddling with a small necklace around her neck, which had come to her overnight …

* * *

Sora had just finished scrubbing the walkway, when he sat up and looked down the road. A carriage was coming up, and it looked very fancy. He examined it closely, and by the way the people were dressed, it seemed to be the prince's. He stood up and went inside. 

"Looks like the prince's carriage is outside," Sora announced a little loudly. He heard a thundering from upstairs and just barely jumped out of the way as Cinderella's stepsisters came stampeding down the stairs. He climbed the stairs, looking for Cinderella. He found her cleaning in her stepmother's bedroom.

Sora heard a distant voice coming from downstairs saying, "We have gone around to every eligible maiden in the kingdom, and the one whose foot fits in this glass slipper is the one who shall marry the prince …"

"Come on, that's you," Sora said as he tugged on her arm.

"I'm coming," Cinderella said, and they went to open the door. But when they went to turn the handle, it was locked. Sora heard footsteps leaving the door, and he guessed who had done this.

"That witch!" Sora yelled as he pounded on the door. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't get the door open.

" … Are you sure there are no other maidens in this house?" a voice said from below.

"There are no others," said Lucille, as Cinderella started to sob. Just then, the fairy godmother appeared, and landed in front of them.

"Sora, use the Keyblade," she urged.

"But it's a Key_blade _not just a key," he said, putting emphasis on the 'blade' part to show that it was a sword.

"But it will unlock things to," she said, and with that, she vanished.

"Fine," he said, and the Keyblade appeared in his hand. He pointed the tip at the lock, and a laser shot from it. A giant Keyhole appeared, and they heard a clicking sound. Sora tried the door, and it opened, letting Cinderella out. She ran downstairs, Sora close behind.

"Wait!" she yelled just as the prince was about to leave. "Let me try!"

"But she is just a scullery maid! She would never be - ," Lucille started, but then she saw the glare on Sora's face that said very solidly 'Don't even try it!' The man with the slipper put it on her foot, and it fit perfectly. "But that's impossible!"

"Oh it's possible," said the prince. "You are the one I danced with, aren't you?" he asked. She nodded yes, with an innocent smile on her face. He led her to the waiting carriage, and helped her inside.

"Sora, thank you for everything. I want you to have this," she said as she handed him a little blue jewel. "It was my good luck charm, but you will need it more than I will. Good-bye, Sora, and good luck!" she said as the carriage took off, heading for the castle. Sora hurried to the barn, where he saw Pluto waiting, everything all ready.

"You knew this was coming, didn't you?" Sora asked with a grin. The dog nodded, and put on the backpack. Sora put on his, and they walked out the barn door. But when they left the barn, it wasn't the outside they saw, but the hall way in Sora's heart. It seemed lighter, and they were farther away from the dark end.

They continued walking towards the light, and eventually Sora decided to take a lunch break. He got out the stuff for a sandwich, and he ate it, sharing with Pluto. They finished their lunch, and continued on their way. They continued on their way, and they eventually came upon another strange door. It was an orange-ish color, and when Sora touched it, his hand felt warmth.

"Okay, that's really weird," Sora said, as he took his hand off the door. He looked at Pluto and said, "How about we camp here tonight, then go in tomorrow? Who knows what we'll find in there." The dog nodded approval of this plan, and took off his backpack. Sora took off his, and pulled out the tent from Pluto's bag. He pressed the button, and the tent sprang up.

Sora went inside, and pulled out the hairbrush from the bag. He brushed his hair, because no matter how he had tried, he couldn't get all the hay out of his hair from the night before. The brunette brushed his hair, and was eventually satisfied that he had gotten all of the hay out. He used the water basin to wash his face and brush his teeth, and then went to his bed. He lay awake for awhile, wondering if Kairi and Riku were okay without him.

He took out the little gem that Cinderella had given him. It was a beautiful gem, and when you looked inside, it looked like a little blizzard trapped inside. He put away, and Sora eventually fell asleep, his dreams full of Kairi …

* * *

"Sora help me!" Kairi screamed as a giant wyvern started carrying her off. 

"Kairi! I'm coming!" Sora yelled as he jumped over a large body cutting it down on the way. He did a spin, killing a ring of shadows that had formed around him. He ran a wizard through, and caught up to the wyvern carrying Kairi. It flew higher, just out Sora's reach. It flew higher and higher, heading for the top of Hallow Bastion. He ran through the castle, heading to the top.

He cut down two more defenders and another wizard on the way there. He burst through the door, and saw the wyvern holding an unconscious Kairi in its talons. Well, Kairi never did like heights.

"Let her go!" Sora demanded, holding the Keyblade threateningly. The creature's only response was to fly over the edge, a long drop to the bottom. "Fine then! Strike Raid!" Sora screamed, and he flung the Keyblade at the wyvern. It struck the giant Heartless, and disappeared, dropping Kairi from the height. He ran to the edge, and jumped off; falling a little bit before he used his glide ability, catching Kairi on his back as he glided to safety. He let her down carefully, because by now she had regained consciousness.

"My hero!" Kairi yelled as she hugged Sora tightly. He hugged her back, and then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before Sora suddenly realized that he was dreaming.

* * *

Sora woke up, and checked his watch. It was 7:30 am, and he knew that he should probably get up. "Darn it! It was just a dream!" Sora said as he stood up and walked over to the water basin. He washed up, and then left the tent. He put on his backpack and pushed the button on the tent. The tent folded itself back up, and he put it back into the bag. Pluto sat next to him, and Sora sighed. "Ready?" Sora asked. The dog nodded, and Sora walked to the door. He felt the warmth on his hand, and he turned the doorknob. He entered the doorway, and found himself in what looked like the savannah. 

The air was hot and moist, and there were very few trees. There were a lot of animals, but he didn't see any people. He stepped all the way out of the doorway, and it vanished, leaving Sora and Pluto in this strange, vast land.

"Hey, Sora, let's go that way," said a voice that he didn't recognize. He looked around, and didn't see anyone, but he was sure that he had heard a voice. The only creature who was next to him was Pluto. "You know, if you look around wildly like that, people are going to think you are crazy," said the voice again. Sora was now very flustered. Where was that voice coming from?

"Hello?" Sora called.

"Hello to you to," said the voice in a sarcastic way.

"Umm, where are you?" Sora asked, confused.

"Where I've been the entire time. Right next to you," the voice said.

"Umm, what's your name?" Sora asked the voice.

"Oh, come on Sora! It's Pluto!" the voice said. Sora looked down at the dog, who was staring up at him. "What?" the dog said to the confused boy.

"You can talk!" Sora yelled, a little worried that he was dreaming.

"Well, of course I can! Well, here anyways," the dog said, trotting off in the direction he wanted to go. He stopped for a second and looked at the boy who was still standing there in shock. "Coming?" the dog asked.

Sora shook off his shock and confusion and followed the dog. "So wait. In this world you can talk?" Sora asked, confused.

"Yes," the dog replied, still walking.

"Okaayyyy," Sora said, deciding to let the matter drop. "So, do you know where we're going?" Sora asked the dog.

"We're going to Pride Rock. It's where the lions live," Pluto said.

"L – lions?" Sora asked as nervousness started creeping into his voice. "I don't know if you know this, but where I come from, lions eat people," Sora said.

"Well, not these ones. Well … not usually," Pluto added. "They'll only hurt you if you hunt their cubs."

"Okay," Sora said, a little relieved. Sora saw a large rock up ahead, and Sora guessed that was Pride Rock. They walked for awhile, and they eventually came upon the rock. But something seemed … wrong. The sky was dark here, and there were very few animals around. He saw many hyenas, but very few lions. 'Didn't Pluto say that this was where the lions lived? Then why are there so many hyenas?' Sora thought to himself. "Pluto, something doesn't feel right. It feels as if there's something … evil here," Sora whispered to Pluto.

"I feel it too. We must find Prince Simba," Pluto said, as he climbed the rocks. Sora followed, and they reached the top. Pluto ducked behind some rocks, pulling Sora with him. They peeked out from behind the rocks, and saw a black lion there, barking out orders. "Scar? What is he doing in charge?" Pluto asked softly. They snuck into the cave and found a young lioness that Pluto seemed to know. "Nala?" he whispered.

"Pluto?" the lioness asked.

"Come with me," the dog said, and all three of them snuck outside. "What's going on here? Why is Scar in charge, and where is Simba?"

"Well, Simba disappeared, and Scar was the only one who was eligible for leader, so … Who's the kid?" the lioness asked.

"Hi, I'm Sora," the boy said, kind of nervous because he was talking to a _lion_! "I'm the Keyblade bearer," he said.

"Welcome, bearer," she said. "We have to find food, otherwise the pride will starve. We should go to the jungle to find some," she said, walking away. Sora and Pluto followed her, and they were soon on their way towards a jungle. They first had to cross a small desert, but they eventually found themselves in a large, luscious jungle. They found a large pool of water, and Sora took long drinks. Crossing a desert wasn't typical exercise for him, and he was worried he was going to die of thirst. After he had had his fill, he sat down and rested.

* * *

"So, when did Simba go missing?" Sora asked as he rested against a tree. 

"A couple of years ago," Nala said. "I'm going to go hunting. If you want, you can wait here," she said as she walked off.

"So, Pluto, how do you know Nala?" Sora asked while fingering the gem in his pocket. He had been doing that without realizing it, and the coolness it held felt good in this heat.

"I knew both her and Simba as lion cubs. One time they ran off and started playing in the elephant graveyard. They almost got eaten by hyenas. It was Scar's fault that they went in their, and somehow he's taken over the pride," Pluto said, scratching behind his ear.

"Well, how did Scar get to them?" Sora asked.

"Uh, well, he is Simba's uncle," Pluto said.

"What? And he sent them in there?"

"Well I think -," Pluto started, but was cut off by a loud scream, and then a roar. Sora jumped up from where he was sitting, and they both ran over to wear they heard the noise. When they arrived, they saw a very strange sight before them. There was a fat warthog wedged between two roots, a Mir cat trying to free him, and two lions celebrating. Wait a second, that was Nala!

"Whoa!" Nala cried as she and the other lion circled each other playfully.

"Um, a little help here, please," the Mir cat said, still trying to get the warthog free.

"Oh, yeah!" Sora said as he went over to the stuck warthog. He pulled on a tusk, and a few more tugs, he was free. Sora went over to the nuzzling lions, and watched as they caught up as old friends. "Prince Simba?" Sora asked the dog.

"Yep," he replied.

"So, you're Prince Simba," Sora said, walking up to the lion.

"I guess, but here, I am just Simba. Nala tells me that you are the Keyblade bearer, Sora. My father used to tell me tales about the first Keyblade bearer. He saved the universe, by sealing the keyholes. But you seem … younger than the last one. Well, it doesn't matter. Like I was saying before, Nala, I can't go back! I like it here, living the Hakuna Matata lifestyle," the young lion said.

"'Hakuna Matata?' What's that?" Sora asked.

"Hakuna Matata, is the lifestyle that we in the jungle live by. It means 'No Worries,' the Mir cat interjected. "I am Timon, and the giant warthog over there is Pumbaa."

"Hello," the warthog said.

But Simba, you have to come back! The pride is starving! There is no more food because the hyenas and Scar have eaten it all! Everyone thinks you're dead! If you come back, Scar won't be in charge anymore," Nala said in a serious tone.

"I told you. It's not my problem anymore! Now leave me alone," Simba said, running off into the jungle.

"Simba! Wait!" Nala yelled, before looking down in sadness. Sora ran after the lion, and found him by the side of a pool.

"Simba, you have to come back to Pride Rock. The people there are suffering," Sora said as he approached the lion with caution

"I know, but he'll be there," Simba said, looking down at the water.

"Who? Your uncle?" Sora asked as he sat down next to Simba.

"Yes, him. When I was younger, my father died. Scar was there. He said that it was my fault that he died. He told me that everyone would hate me, so I ran. Timon and Pumbaa found me, and took me in. They taught me how to live in the way of Hakuna Matata. But the reason I don't want to go back is that I can never be my father. He was a strong leader, and everybody looked up to him. He taught me about how all the kings of the pride live in the stars and look down upon us. Now he's up there, always looking down on me. But I can never live up to him," Simba said, reminiscing about the past.

Sora considered this for a moment, then lay back. "Your right," he said. "You'll never be your father. You'll be you. I spent my whole life trying to live up to my friend. He was always better than me, at everything. But recently I realized that if you try to be someone else, you'll never be yourself, which is all you really should be. So, sure. You aren't your father. You'll be Simba, the one people look up to"

"Sora … thanks. You've helped me realize that I don't need to be my father. We should probably get back to the others, shouldn't we?"

"Yep, probably should," Sora said, as he stood up. And together they walked towards their friends.

* * *

**Author's Randomness:**

Okay, so did you guys like this chapter? I know that it didn't have a lot of action, but I needed to have something like this to move the story forward. But since I didn't have a lot of action, I tried to put in a little fluff! It wasn't much, but it was there. Don't worry! Next chapter has a ton of action, because they meet … dun, dun, dun … Scar! Ohhh, scary! Okays, so toodles, review, and Ja Ne!


	9. Showdown: Sora vs Scar!

**The Darkness in My Heart  
****  
Showdown: Sora vs. Scar!**

**Author's Rantings**

Okay, I know that this is late, and I'm really sorry! I kept having issues and stuff, and it took me forever to write a draft that I liked. Plus, I have another story in the works, a new one that I will probably post soon. It's a SoraRiku fic, and I like it. I also redid my bio page, if anybody wants to visit it. There's some info about some new stories, and more about yours truly. Plus, it didn't help that the new Harry Potter book came out, because I've been reading that a ton! So here is the next chapter, and all Riku fans will probably be after me when they get to the end. Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to R.A. Pointless, Duelwelder, abeutifuloblivion, Inumaru 12, and Sai-ryo Aura Feena. Thanks, you guys are the best! Well, on with the show!

* * *

Sora and Simba rejoined the others in the clearing, and found Nala, Pluto, Timon, and Pumbaa chatting away. 

"Hey," Sora said as they approached the group. They immediately stopped talking, and turned their attention towards Sora and the large lion next to him.

"So, Simba, what is your decision?" Nala asked, looking at Simba. The large lion looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"I … um … I think I will go back to Pride Rock," Simba muttered after a great deal of consideration.

"Wonderful!" Nala said, standing up in excitement.

"No, not wonderful," the haughty Mir cat said, leaping down from his post on top of the warthog. "He can't go! He already lives here, with us! We have Hakuna Matata!" Timon exclaimed, starting to ramble on.

"Timon! Timon, calm down," Simba said, trying to get the Mir cat to settle down. "I'm sorry, but they need me. The pride needs me. It's my duty as heir to the throne" he said.

"Well … uh, Timon," the warthog started. "We could go with Sora, Simba, and Nala," he finished, looking at the Mir cat who obviously hadn't paid any attention to what was just said. In fact the Mir cat looked thoughtful, slowly pacing back and forth on the ground in front of Sora.

Suddenly, it appeared as if a sudden thought struck him, and he said, "I know, we can go with Simba! That's so clever! I'm so glad that I thought of it!" Timon jumped on top of a disgruntled warthog, which seemed to have realized that the creature on top of him had just stolen his idea. The strange scene that had just happened earned a strange look from Sora, Nala, and Pluto, but it seemed not to faze Simba or Pumbaa; they must have been used to it. They all set out of the forest, and they eventually reached the edge of the desert.

"Great," Sora grumbled, starting out across the desert.

"Wait!" Simba said as he jumped in front of Sora, who had started to go ahead. "It will probably take a long time to cross the desert if we have to walk with you, because we can't leave you behind," the lion explained.

"Yeah, you two leggers can be awfully slow, even when running," Nala said.

"Hey!" Sora and Timon exclaimed at the same time, both giving disapproving looks at the lion, which carelessly licked clean her paw.

"Well you know it's true," she said, nonchalantly.

Sora sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said, grudgingly agreeing with the lioness. "But can we do?"

"Here, climb on my back," Simba offered, bending down lower.

"Uhhh … I can't …" Sora said, a little nervous.

"Why not?" the lion asked simply, like if what he had been asking was as casual as asking how the weather was.

"Because where I'm from people don't generally ride on the backs of lions," Sora said, slightly sheepish towards the lion. "Besides, won't I hurt you? I'm not exactly light, you see …"

"No, of course not," Simba said, bending down once more. Sora stood there for a second, before hesitantly getting on. As soon as he was settled, they took off through the desert, speeding quickly through terrain that would have taken them a couple hours to walk. They sped along, making great time, and soon enough, Sora could see Pride Rock in the distance. From this far away Sora could see that it looked dark and sinister, exactly the opposite of where Sora wanted to go. But nevertheless they continued forward, Nala, Pluto, Timon, and Pumbaa not far behind.

After awhile, the strange little group arrived near the large intimidating rock, stopping a little ways before the rock and hiding in a large group of the trees and bushes.

"So what's the game plan, guys?" Timon asked from his perch on the out of breath warthog.

"I don't know," Simba said as he let Sora down from his back.

"Well we do need a plan," Pluto said.

"Well, we can't just charge in, that probably won't work," Nala said as she licked a sore paw. Just then there was a spark in Timon's eyes as an idea popped in his head.

"Hey, I've got an idea …"

Five minutes later, they were all hiding around the back of Pride Rock, crouching low in the weeds.

"I can't believe that we're just going to charge in," Nala said disapprovingly as they waited for their moment of attack. "If we get killed, I'm blaming you," she said to Timon, who only grinned sheepishly back at her. Suddenly Simba leapt out of their hiding spot, Sora, Nala, and the warthog right behind him. They ran out in front of the rock, and Simba let out a loud roar. Scar came running out on top of the large rock, and Simba just looked up at him.

"Scar, you're a liar, and a thief! That place atop the rock and king of the pride does not belong to you! Either prepare to give it up peacefully, or I will take it back with force!" Simba roared to an appalled and shocked Scar.

"But – but –," Scar started, and then seemed to regain his composure. "Seize them!" he roared, and hyenas and Heartless seemed to come out of nowhere and started coming closer and closer to the small group of friends. Sora backed away from a particularly vicious shadow, and bumped into the large lion. "So, Simba, it is quite a group of friends that you have there. Associating with humans, traitors, dogs, Mir cats, and pigs? Why the very thought of calling those creatures your friends!"

"Hey!" Sora, Nala, Pluto, and Timon yelled.

"To you that's Mr. Pig," Pumbaa said defiantly.

"Who my friends are is none of your concern, Scar," Simba snarled, and leapt over the advancing hyenas and Heartless and up to the mocking lion. That left the others to deal with the hyenas and Heartless, and Sora knew just how. He summoned the Keyblade, and started bash away any creature that leapt at him or his new friends. Following suit, Nala leapt at a nearby hyena, taking it down. Sora fought his way up the side of the rock, leaving his other friends behind. He knew that they could take care of themselves; they were all pretty intelligent, although he wasn't to sure about the warthog and Mir cat …

Sora worked his way to the top fighting every hyena and Heartless that came at him. He had finally reached the top, and he saw the two lions snarling and circling each other. Suddenly he saw a mess of black and brown fur leap from its spot across from Simba, and land on top of the giant lion.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning crashed as Simba roared and shook the giant lion off of his back. Sora jumped right in to the jumble and started smacking the mean lion on the back. It immediately turned on Sora and leaped at him. He slashed at Sora and he blocked as the lightning crashed down below, starting a large fire on the dry weeds down below. His adrenaline was pumping and his heart was beating faster than a humming bird's, but he didn't dare take a break.

**Slash, clang! Slash, clang!** Sora blocked each assault, his breathing hard and fast. He missed one assault and felt claws on his chest as pain shot through him, making him stumble. He hadn't realized it, but he had been getting dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. He glanced down, and saw the fire climbing its way up the side of the rock, and Sora was dangerously close to it. But taking his eyes off of Scar even for a minute was a mistake, because he barely missed the claws swiping in front of his face. He jumped back, and felt the blue gem fall out of his pocket. He quickly grabbed it up, and felt the coolness of it against his skin. It contrasted weirdly against the feeling of the flames that were slowly ebbing its way up the sides of the rock and surrounding the three upon the rock. Sora jumped out of range of another set of claws, and looked for where Simba was. He was blocked by a wall of flames, leaving Sora and Scar trapped with each other.

Well, one thing was clear to Sora; he was going to have to make the flames go down if I want to live. He jumped up, once again missing a bunch of claws. He aimed the point of the Keyblade at the flames dividing him from Simba, and the words came to him as if he had known them all along.

"Deep freeze!" he yelled. The blue gem glowed, and millions of ice crystals emitted from the tip of the Keyblade, and doused the fire blocking him from Simba. He turned and saw an angry black and brown lion about to slash him in two. He prepared himself to block, but instead saw a flash of orange fur, and heard a mighty roar. He opened his now closed eyes, and saw Simba doing battle with Scar.

Sora looked down, and saw that the fire was now surrounding Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and Pluto. Sora aimed the Keyblade at the circle of fire, and yelled "Deep freeze!" at the flames. They instantly dispersed as the ice crystals made contact, and satisfied, he turned his attention back to the snarling lions. He watched as Scar threw ashes into Simba's face, making the other lion yell in pain. "Hey! That's cheating!" Sora yelled over the roar of the flames.

But the other lion obviously didn't hear him or didn't care, because at that moment Scar pushed Simba over the edge. The orange lion scrambled on to the side of the mountain, and the older lion went over to stand over him.

"How did you think you could ever beat me? I'm twice the lion you'll ever be, and the only reason that your father was king of the pride was because I he happened to be born first. If only he wasn't, then he might be here today. You see, he was in my way, and I wanted to be king. But you were in the way too. When sending you to the elephant graveyard didn't work, it was perfect that you believed it was your fault that Mufassa died. And all those years spent in the jungle wasted," Scar said, looking down at the lion who was clawing in the dirt and ashes, trying to get back up on the rock.

"W – What do you mean?" he asked, still clawing.

"What I mean, is that," and he leaned down real close to Simba's ear, so that Sora had to strain to hear, "I killed Mufassa." That made Sora and Simba snap. Sora leapt at the large lion before he could knock Simba off the edge, and smacked him thoroughly on the back before he was knocked off. Simba managed to climb back on the ledge, a murderous look on his face.

"You killed my father!" he roared, and leapt on him. Thunder boomed as the two lions clashed, both determined to win. Sora aimed the Keyblade at Scar, and fired another blizzard spell at the large lion. The spell connected, and sent the large lion flying. He landed hard on the ground, and Simba pounced on him. There was more roaring, and the large lion leapt off the ground, a few claw marks on his face. He lunged at Sora, and he jumped back, but landed at a funny angle, making him trip. The big brown lion leaped into the air, determined on hitting his mark. Sora saw this and rolled out of the way, then jumped on to his feet with the same move that Riku had always used against him on the island.

Scar growled, and leaped at Sora once again. He gained a lot of air on this one, and if he hit he would knock Sora off the edge. Sora remembered his dream with the wyvern, and he remembered the attack that he had used against the large Heartless. 'I winder if I can use that attack?' he thought.

He looked at the lion that was about to land, and he yelled, "Strike Raid!" and the Keyblade glowed, and was flung from Sora's hand and knocked into the lion, sending it flying. The Keyblade returned to the stunned boy, and he caught it, and then flung it again. It hit him a second time, then returned. Sora, who figured that was enough, caught the Keyblade and just held it, amazed at the power that he had just released from it. He watched as Simba pounced on the large lion. The larger one got on top, and Sora was about to charge in when he saw the black and brown lion go flying off of the younger one and off the cliff. He scrambled to get back on, and he was about to succeed when Simba came over.

By that time Scar was nervous and started groping for any excuse that might save him. "I didn't really want to kill Mufassa or you, the hyenas made me do it," he explained, lying once again.

Simba only looked at him coldly, staring down into the terrified face of his uncle. "Enough of your lies, Scar," he said, and knocked him off of the cliff. Sora went over and watched as the hyenas gathered around the frightened lion, all of them very ticked off.

"Our fault, Scar?" said one of them, as the rest of them started to pounce. Not wanting to watch the gruesome scene below, Sora turned away, and concentrated instead on the many flames engulfing Pride Rock.

He aimed the Keyblade at a group of flames crawling up the sides, and said "Deep freeze!" putting out those flames. He looked around for his other friends, and saw them also trying to put out the flames. He aimed another blizzard spell at some flames that were starting to overwhelm Pumbaa and Timon, and another that was starting to surround Pluto.

He continued putting out fires as other members of the pride helped. With each spell that he cast, he felt himself feeling weaker and weaker. He put one after another, working his way down the rock. He reached the bottom as the rain started to fall. He kept putting out the flames as the ground grew muddy, the rain helping put out fire. He doused a flame that was starting to engulf a lion cub, and everything started to go hazy in his eyes. He put out one more as a faint voice in his head that sounded peculiarly like Mickey said, "_Use it wisely, for you can only do so much at one time_." And then everything went black as he remembered the King's warning a little too late …

* * *

"No, you can not, eat him!" said an appalled voice as Sora came to. He slowly opened his eyes. There he saw Nala arguing with a particularly grumpy looking lion, who was staring hungrily at one of Sora's legs. 

"Oh, come on, Nala! He looks dead! Just one leg! He won't miss it … much …," the lion said, angrily.

"No, and that's the final answer! Do you have any idea what would happen if Simba heard you talking about eating the Keyblade bearer? Especially think of what King Mickey would do to you! Besides, I'm sure that he would miss it very much, seeing as he only has two legs!" Nala argued irritably and angrily.

"You're right, I would!" Sora yelled as he sat up, yanking his legs away from the lions reach. "Seeing as I need it to, you know, WALK!" Sora yelled as he jumped up from his spot, fuming. The grumpy lion just stalked away with a scowl on its face.

"Fifth one today," Nala said irritated as she groomed herself. "I'm glad to see that you've woken up. Hungry lions keep coming in asking if they can eat 'the dead human', although I keep telling them that you're not dead. But since you've been out for a week, I was starting to wonder myself –"

"Wait! I was out for a week!" Sora yelled in shock.

"Yes, and would you please stop yelling? I am a lion, and I do have sensitive ears," she said with chagrin, continuing with her grooming.

"Oh, sorry," Sora said, grinning sheepishly. He walked out of the cave that he was in, and realized that his shirt was missing. He still had his undershirt on, but he still wanted his shirt back. He walked down the side of the rock, and looked around. Everything was singed and burned, but it seemed that life was starting to turn back to normal on the Pride Lands. Sora gazed out at the trees and animals, and everything seemed to have a brighter air to it, and Sora immediately recognized what had been lifted from the air. The evil was gone, and it seemed that things were going to get better.

Sora continued down the path, and he saw in the distance Pluto trotting over to him, a package in his mouth. He gave the package to Sora, and told him to open it. He did, and inside he found a newly patched shirt, a letter, and a strange bracelet that he didn't know what it was for. Sora slipped the shirt on, and opened the enclosed letter, noticing the King's seal on the back.

Just as Sora was about to open it, Pluto said, "King Mickey was by when you were knocked out. He told me to give you this, and to tell you that you should probably seal this world and then go visit Riku. Something's … happened," Pluto said, and then trotted off before Sora could ask any questions. Frustrated, Sora opened the letter and read the contents.

_Dear Sora,_

_I'm sorry to hear about you collapsing the other day. But an excess of magic using will do that. I've given you a bracelet that will show you how much magic and health you have. How much magic you can use is represented by a blue meter called MP. It also has a green meter that tells you how much health you have. If you get too low on health, it will start to glow red and warn you. I hope this will help you in your quest, and help you not to collapse from over using your magic. _

_Now, you should leave soon, and when you camp for the night, please visit Riku. He has been involved in an accident, and has been calling for you. Please be careful when entering his dreams, so you don't make him any more sick, and give him one of your elixirs, so it will help him regain his strength and health. Good luck with your journey and stay safe._

_Your friend,_

_King Mickey_

"I wonder what happened to Riku," Sora cried, worried about his best friend. "If I remember right, elixirs are the strongest healing potion. It must be really bad if he needs that!" Sora put on the bracelet, and then set off down the way, looking for his friends so that he could say goodbye. He eventually found Timon and Pumbaa hunting for grubs down by the watering hole.

"Hey guys!" Sora yelled, as Pumbaa sucked up a bunch of grubs from a log.

"Hi there, Sora," Pumbaa yelled back, his mouth full.

"Hi ya, Sora! Care for a bug?" Timon asked, holding out a large beetle.

"Uh … no thanks," Sora said, edging away from the slimy bug. "I just wanted to say bye, guys, and thanks for a great time. I had a lot of fun with you guys," he said.

"Wait! Why are ya movin'," the Mir cat asked. "Why don't you stay here with us?"

"Well, for a couple of reasons," Sora said. "For one, a friend of mine got hurt and I have to go visit him. I've known him since I was a little kid. Another reason is that I'm a Keyblade bearer. I have to go help others in need. And one last reason is that there's somebody waiting for me. I promised her that I would come back, and I would rather die than break that promise to her. She is very special to me, and she will always be in my heart."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Pumbaa said, on the verge of tears.

"Pumbaa, don't cry!" Sora whined, patting the warthog on the back.

"Fine, just don't forget us, alright," Timon said, climbing on top of the warthog. "Come on, let's go find Simba," he said.

"Guys, I could never forget you. I promise that I won't," Sora said as he followed the warthog.

"Hey, uh, Sora, you might want to get up next to the warthog, because you don't want to be down south of Pumbaa after he's been eating those banana slugs," Timon said with a grin. Realizing what he meant, Sora ran to catch up with them. They found Simba near Pride Rock, helping to get some of the ashes cleared away from around so that new things could grow. Simba spotted Sora, Timon, and Pumbaa as they came walking up, and ran over to meet them.

"Hey guys," Simba said as he came over. "Pluto just told me that you have to go soon," he said.

"Yeah, he has a special girl waiting for him," Pumbaa said with a grin.

"Pumbaa!" Sora yelled.

"Oh, I get it," Simba said.

"No! No, it's not like that!" Sora said, blushing, "You see a friend of mine got hurt, and I have to go see him," he concluded, his face six shades of pink.

"Okaaaayyyy," Simba said, wondering why Sora was pink. "Well before you go, there is something that I want to show you. Hey, Pluto!" he called over his shoulder, and the dog came running up. "We're going to go see the Keyhole."

"Alright, let's go," Pluto said, and they started walking.

"So where is this Keyhole?" Sora asked as they walked.

"It's not to far from here," Simba said as they walked over a ridge. But what he saw when he got there was one of the most incredible things he had ever seen. It was a giant tree, and it looked to be hundreds of years old.

"Whoa," Sora exclaimed as he looked at the towering tree.

"That's the Tree of Life," Simba explained as they drew near, the giant tree right in front of them. "My father used to take me here when I was younger. He told me how everything is connected to each other in the circle of life, and how this tree has seen it all. He told me that all of the past kings are looking down upon us, and guiding us everyday. This tree connects us to them, as it connects them to us. One day when my father took me here, I found a Keyhole in it, but of course I didn't have the Key. Keyblade bearer, you need to lock this Keyhole," Simba said, as they arrived.

"But I don't know how to –" Sora started as the Keyhole revealed itself. The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand, and a light shot out of the tip, locking the world. "Okay," Sora said, a bit shocked.

"Wow, Sora that was really cool," Pumbaa said, as they watched the Keyhole disappear.

"Yeah, neat trick," Timon said, scratching his head. They all went back to Pride Rock, where Sora gathered up his things. As he turned to leave, he saw all of his new found friends waiting there.

"Goodbye, Sora," Nala said with an affectionate nuzzle.

"We're sure gonna miss you," Pumbaa said, his eyes glazed over.

"Yeah, we're gonna miss you kid," Timon said.

"Sora, remember that you can always call upon the help of the lions when you are in need," Simba said, and gave him a present wrapped in leaves. Sora opened it, and found a claw on a leather string. "You can use that to call us in a time of need," Simba said.

"Thanks guys," Sora said, smiling happily. "I promise I'll never forget you. Any of you," he said.

"I know you won't," said Nala. "Now you should go visit your friend if he needs you."

"Okay! Come on, Pluto. I have to go visit Riku and Kairi," he said, as the dog sat next to him. They walked out of the cave, and found a glowing circle. Sora stepped on it, and he and Pluto were transported back into the tunnel of darkness and light. "Well, here we are," Sora as he got out the tent. He set it up, and then got out his Dream Mirror. "Time to visit Riku," he said.

* * *

**Author's Ranting**

Okay so how was that for a chapter? Did you like the cliffie? Poor Riku! Mwuhahahahaha! Next chapter: A Friend in Need

Riku: What did you do to me?

Sora: Yeah, what did you do to him?

Me: I guess you'll just have to wait! Ha ha!

Riku: But I want to know what happens!

Me: Well you'll just have to wait until next week, won't you?

Sora: Wanna bet? pulls out duct tape and rope

Me: Uhhhh … got to go! runs Remember, review and Ja Ne!

**P.S.:** I have a new one-shot out, called **My Broken Love is Pulling Me Under**. It's a songfic, sad and sweet, also a yaoi! Also, another yaoi called **Escaped!**


	10. A Friend in Need

**The Darkness in My Heart**

**A Friend in Need**

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Kingdom Hearts, would I be writing fanfiction? The answer for you slow people out there, no.

**Author's Ramblings:**

Wow, I know this took sooooo long to come out with and about that, I am VERY sorry. I have been really stressed and busy lately, and as much as I wanted to work on it, other things that were more important kept getting in the way. A lot of it has to do with school, speaking of which, starts in a couple of weeks. I will try my very best to get the chapters out, but it might take awhile, cause I have all honors classes. That means a LOT of homework for me, and less chapters for you. Once again, I'm really sorry, but you can blame the teachers at my school for thinking that I was actually smart. ((snort)) Yeah, right. Like _I'm _smart. I don't see why they put me in English Honors. I'm not good at writing. So, yeah. Once again, sorry!

This chapter is dedicated to: R.A. Pointless, MagicianCyborg, Inumaru 12, Tocole, and The Keyblade Master. You guys are sooo nice! **Important note at the bottom!**

* * *

Sora thought of a memory with him and Riku together. He chose one from when they were very young. In fact it was the very first time he met Riku. He was six and Riku was seven.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_Sora had just moved to the island, and this was his first time alone on the island. The Destiny Islands were famous for their safety when it came to robbers and kidnappers. That's why his mother had chosen this place. Wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of red shorts, he wandered around the island, eventually coming to a small island that was connected to the main island by a small, wooden bridge._

_He went through the wooden seaside shack and up to the bridge. He spotted a tree that was grown at an odd angle. It had small, yellow, star shaped fruits coming off of it, and Sora started to wonder what kind of fruit it was. He walked up to the tree and climbed on top of a part that looked like somebody could sit on. _

_He reached up the fruit, but realized that he was to short. He started to climb the tree, finding it difficult. He had never climbed one before. He had almost reached the top of the tree. He reached a hand out to get the fruit, and he could almost touch it, when he heard a voice from behind him._

"_Hey, what are you doing on my tree?" came the voice of a boy behind him; surprising Sora and making him fall to the ground. He looked at the source and of the noise, and he saw a boy with the strangest features he had ever seen. He had silver hair that glistened in the sunlight, and entrancing aqua eyes, which were narrowed into a glare. "Well, are you going to answer my question, or not?" the boy asked, snapping Sora out of his thoughts._

"_Oh, uh, I didn't know it was your tree," Sora said, rubbing the back of his head where he fell. "It's just I …" Sora trailed off._

"_You what?" the boy asked, getting angry._

"_I was just wondering what kind of fruit that was," Sora answered, sitting up and looking at the ground. "I'm sorry," he added._

"_Hmph," the boy said. He climbed onto the tree, and with expert motions he climbed the tree and picked two of the star shaped fruits. He climbed back down and lay with his back on the tree. "Here," he said, throwing the fruit at Sora._

_He caught it barely, and he held it close. "Umm, thanks …" Sora trailed off again, realizing that he didn't know the boy's name._

"_It's Riku," he said, taking a bite out of the fruit. "You?"_

"_Oh. I'm Sora," he said, giving off his famous smile. _

"_So, you new here, Sora?" Riku asked, taking another bite out of the fruit._

"_Yeah, I just moved here," he answered. He took a bite, finding the juices sweet and runny. It tasted sugary, surprising the boy. _

_Looking at the surprise on the boy's face, Riku said, "It's called a paupu fruit. They say that if two people share a fruit, their destinies become intertwined."_

"_Intertwined? What's that mean?" Sora asked, genuinely confused. Riku looked at him and the confused look, and started laughing at him. "What?"_

"_Intertwined means that their destinies will always be apart of one another," he answered, after he said after he got over his laughing spell. _

"_Oh," Sora said, his cheeks becoming rosier. "Well …"_

"_What?" Riku asked, looking down at him._

"_Do you wanna share one?" he asked, slightly embarrassed. The question seemed to catch Riku off guard, and he looked at Sora in surprise. They sat there in the uncomfortable silence, until Sora, feeling very embarrassed, thought he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Riku. I shouldn't have asked," he said getting up and running off with tears in his eyes._

"_Wait!" Riku yelled, grabbing Sora by the arm before he could get to far away. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just … that nobody's cared before. It just … surprised me, that's all," he said, looking at the ground. "I'd like to share one with you, you know, if you still want to," he said with uncertainty._

"_Yeah!" Sora said, looking at the older boy. "But what do you mean nobody's ever cared before? Don't you have any friends?" Sora asked, interested._

"_No …They all think I'm weird because of my hair and eyes," he said._

"_Well, I'll be your friend," Sora said, and gave Riku a friendly hug. He broke the paupu he was holding in half, and handed the other half to Riku. "Friends?" he asked._

"_Friends," Riku said, taking the offered fruit, and they sat on the tree and ate it._

_End Flashback

* * *

_

He looked at the small mirror he held in his hands, and he saw Riku sleeping with his arm in a sling. Sora aimed the Dream Mirror at the wall, and the portal was a strange mix of blue and pink. He remembered that pink meant that somebody was frightened, and was worried. He had never seen Riku frightened before, and he wondered what had him scared. He entered the doorway, and found himself in what looked like the islands except … different. There was no one else on the island, and it seemed smaller. He couldn't get into any of the houses on the island, so he took to looking around.

He saw a figure sitting on the paupu tree, and he went over to the seaside shack. He tried the door, but no matter how hard he yanked, it wouldn't open. So, instead, he went around to the side, and climbed on top of the roof. He walked over to the side, and jumped on to the cliff that connected the island to the smaller one. He crossed the bridge, and saw what looked like little Riku and little Sora sitting on the tree, sharing one of the fruits, just like in his memory.

Sora was confused. How did this scare Riku? Suddenly, everything seemed to change. It started to get all dark and creepy. He looked back at the younger versions of himself and Riku, and was surprised to see that it was they were no longer little kids, but they were the same age as they were now. Sora moved closer to the two boys, and listened to their conversation.

"Riku, I don't like this," the dream Sora said, shivering slightly.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said, putting an arm around Sora's shoulder in a friendly way.

"Thanks," Sora said, huddling up into a tighter ball.

"Well, you're my best friend. I have to take care of you," he said, as lightning crashed. Dream Sora closed his eyes as the thunder boomed, so was completely oblivious to the giant tentacle that was rising out of the water. It slowly snaked it's way around Sora's waist, and no matter how Sora tried to warn them of it, nothing worked.

"Watch out," he yelled, trying to get their attention. But his cries fell upon deaf ears, and the tentacle gave a mighty yank, pulling Sora into the water. He gave a quick scream as his head disappeared under the water.

"Sora! No, Sora!" Riku cried, trying to grab his friend. After five minutes of the storm starting, it ended abruptly, leaving a saddened and wet Riku staring at the water. In the distance, something washed up on shore. The real Sora and dream Riku rushed over to it, both already knowing what it was.

They reached the lifeless object, and Sora's eyes widened at the sight. Riku gathered up a now dead dream Sora in his eyes and started to cry. "Sora … Sora!" he called. Suddenly, the real Sora started to glow blue, and was thrown out of the dream.

* * *

Confused at how he was now in the long tunnel, he groaned and looked into the Dream Mirror. There was Riku, sitting up, awake. He was sweating and his face looked drawn. Something told Sora that he had had this dream before, judging by the bags underneath the boys eyes. The older boy collapsed onto the bed, and just stared at the ceiling. 

"Just a dream," the boy muttered to himself. He tried to move his arm, but winced in pain as he did so. "Dammit! Still hurts," he said to himself. "Sora, when are you going to wake up?"

The light in the hallway turned on, and Kairi came into the bedroom, in her nightgown, and yawning widely. "Have that dream again?" she asked, and Riku nodded his head in response. "You've been having that dream ever since you fell off of the island two days ago. What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing, I'm just worried about Sora, I guess," he answered.

"Does your arm still hurt?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I tried everything I could, but even with my new powers, I can't mend it all the way. You're just lucky I kept it from breaking," she said. "I'm worried about Sora, too. Just … try to get some rest, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever," he said, and then turned on his side. Kairi left, and shut the door. Sora watched as Riku sighed, and the image faded.

* * *

"So, he fell off of the island?" Sora asked Pluto, who nodded in return. "Must have been pretty bad, if his arm almost got broken," he said to himself. "It's going to be weird not hearing you talk anymore," Sora said to the dog, and scratched him behind the ear. 

Sora got off of the ground, and climbed inside of the large tent. He found the hairbrush, and started to brush the knots out of his mass of cinnamon locks. After a full ten minutes of brushing, he finally set down the brush.

He made his way over to the water basin, and washed his face and then brushed his teeth. He lay down in the small bed, and just relaxed for a bit. He took out the lion claw that he had received, and examined it. It was a rich white color, and very big. The tip seemed to have been dulled, so that it wouldn't hurt Sora when he wore it. After awhile, he put it away and turned to the side.

"Kairi, how are you?" he asked himself, pulled out the Dream Mirror. He thought of the memory where they discovered Kairi's cave, and the mirror glowed green and then showed Kairi sitting in her room. She was still awake from when she checked on Riku. She was leaning against the wall, and listening to her ipod while reading a book.

After awhile, she seemed to get bored of the book, and she marked the page that she was on with a bookmark. She sighed and started to fidget with something around her neck. Sora looked closer and realized that it was the necklace that he had given her, and he felt a small sense of pride inside himself knowing that he had worked hard to get that for her.

She sighed again, and got up and went over to the window, where she looked out over the ocean that reflected the large moon in the sky. "Sora, when are you coming back?" she asked softly to the ocean. "I miss you too."

"Kairi, I miss you too," Sora said quietly to the mirror, "don't worry, I'm coming back to you." He watched as she turned the light off and walked back to her bed, and eventually fell asleep. The mirror dimmed after that, and Sora put it away. He lay awake for awhile, before he too, fell asleep.

* * *

Sora found himself in what seemed to be the mountains. It was snowing, and Sora, being raised on the islands, wasn't used to the temperature. He continued to trudge on, shivering and holding his arms tight to his chest. Why he was here, he had no idea, but nevertheless he continued to walk along. Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the forest at him, and he jumped back in surprise. 

"Come quietly, now," the figure said, and started towards him.

"No way!" Sora said, summoning the Keyblade. He eyed the figure in front of him with distaste. It was a tall, pale man with gleaming yellow eyes and long silver hair. It wasn't the same color of Riku's hair, more … paler. Sora lashed out at the attacker, and smacked him back. This seemed to make him angry.

"Resistance is pointless," he said, motioning around him. "I have you completely surrounded," he said with a smirk, and sure enough, there were large shadows all around him. They jumped on him, and there were just too many to count. And even though Sora put up quite a fight, they soon had him pinned to the cold, frozen ground, his Keyblade lost among the snow. He struggled violently as the man came closer. "Come now. You didn't think you could _really_ save Kairi, did you?"

"Let her go," Sora ordered, a fierce look on his face. He continued to struggle against the shadows, but realized that it was futile.

"Bow down to me, and swear to serve me, and I might let you live," he said, looking down at him cruelly.

"If living means bowing down to the likes of you, then I'd rather die with my head held high!" Sora yelled at the man, and it seemed to anger him.

"Fine! Any last words?"

"Yeah!" he yelled, and managed to get a hand free. He grabbed the lion claw around his neck and yelled, "Power!" Suddenly, the air seemed to shimmer as a portal opened beside Sora, and King Simba stepped out onto the mountains. He attacked the shadows holding Sora down, and the young boy immediately sprung up and grabbed the Keyblade. He yelled, "Strike Raid," and he flung the Keyblade at some Heartless lingering over him. After he retrieved it, he turned his attention to the figure, who looked a little less confident. "Where's Kairi?" he demanded, but the man didn't give an answer.

"Find her, if you can," he said, and melted away into the darkness.

"Darn you!" Sora yelled, running to the spot where he used to be. He slammed the Keyblade into the ground, and leaned on it, clearly exhausted. "I have to find Kairi," he said, and got up and continued on his way up the mountain. Suddenly, he felt something pushing him to the side …

* * *

Sora awoke to Pluto nosing him to the side, and he groggily opened his eyes. He realized that it was a dream, and groaned than rolled over. "I don't wanna get up yet, Pluto," he moaned, and attempted to go back to sleep. The dog started to bark at him, and eventually Sora had to give in. "Fine, fine, I'm up," he mumbled, slowly sitting up. He ran a hand through his mass of brown hair, and then slowly got up. He went over to the water basin and rinsed off his face, and then found a hairbrush to fix his bad case of bed head. After all this had been done, he brushed his teeth then found a fresh pair of clothes to change into. He was now wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt underneath a gray jacket. 

He exited the tent and found the button on the side. He made sure that Pluto was out before pressing the button. He watched the odd tent fold itself back up into a box, and Sora just shook his head. "I suppose I'll never know how that works," he said to himself, and picked up the box and put it into Pluto's bag. He put on his own backpack, and walked over to where the dog was waiting for him. "Alright. Ready to go?" he asked the dog. The dog nodded yes, and they started along the pathway.

Sora trudged along, seeing nothing before him but a strange mix of darkness and lightness, now more light than dark. He got bored of the same, mundane scenery, and instead looked down at his feet.

Walking along sort of became a pattern for the two as they continued along. Left. Right. Left. Right. (Or in Pluto's case, front left foot and back left foot, right front foot and back right foot.) Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right foot being pulled on by Pluto. Well that was new.

He looked down at the dog who was currently pulling on Sora's jeans. "What?" he asked. He set down the pack, and pulled out a small box from inside. Then he knew. "Oh, I guess I'm hungry too." He picked up the box that contained food for both of them, and he found a sandwich and a thermos of juice. He split the rather large sandwich in half, and handed one half to the dog. They split the thermos of juice – apple – and they finished their lunch. Afterwards, Sora put away all of the things that they used, and put his backpack back on.

He continued forward, the bleakness starting to make him drowsy. He was starting to fall asleep, and started to sag, but every time he did, he was barked at by the big dog next to him. "Sooo tired," Sora moaned, and they continued on for a little while before Pluto finally deemed a spot worthy enough for them to rest. He gratefully got out the tent and opened it, He crawled into the opening and laid down on the bed for a bit before he decided to get out their dinner.

This time when he opened the box, he found many different types of fruits. He picked out a couple, and placed them on the bed next to him. He searched through the contents and even found a couple that he didn't know. Which was why he was immensely surprised when he found a couple very rare fruits inside. He picked up one of the star shaped fruit, and he saw a note attached to it. It read:

_Dear Sora,_

_I thought that you might be feeling a little homesick, so these sent this to you. Enjoy! _

_Your friend,_

_Mickey_

He looked surprised, and looked at the yellow fruit. He gave Pluto a couple of apples, and took one of the paupu fruits for himself. He bit into it. The sugary juices flowing into his mouth and making him drool slightly. It had been so long since he had one, and he had forgotten exactly how they tasted. "Mmmm," he moaned, savoring the sweet fruit in his mouth. "I'm gonna have to thank him when I see him again," Sora said, taking another bite. He finished off the paupu, and saved the other one for someone very special. They finished all of their dinner, and he put away the small box.

He laid down to rest, and he took out the Dream Mirror. Sora set remembered when he and Kairi were very little, and he had just met her.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_Sora walked along the beach, the sun in the middle of the sky. There was a cool ocean breeze flowing across the island, bringing in the salty smell of the ocean. It ran across the flowers that littered the island in the back, stirring up the daffodils, daisies, and lilacs that Selphie, Sora, Wakka, Tidus, and Riku had planted last summer. The scent was a pleasant one, and Sora inhaled it deeply as they continued along their path. _

_They had just come from the cave that they had discovered the other day. Sora had been convinced that there was a monster in the cave, and had "persuaded" Riku to come. In fact, he had actually been begging and giving off his infamous pout, because he had been too afraid to go himself. Riku had finally decided to come, although it was more because he hated it when Sora just sat there staring at him with his big puppy eyes. _

_They had soon discovered, much to Sora's embarrassment, that it was just the wind coming through the cave and not a monster. With nothing else to do all day, they had decided to go meet the new mayor's daughter, who had just moved her from some far away place that neither Sora or Riku could pronounce. So, they followed the path from the cave down to the beach, heading towards the new mayor's house._

_They arrived at the large place, and Riku timidly knocked on the door. An elderly old lady answered the door and smiled down at the two youths. "Ah, you must be here to see Kairi," the woman said in a kindly voice, then called up the stairs, "Kairi! You have some new friends down here that would like to meet you!" Soon, a redheaded youth came down the stairs. She saw the two young boys standing at the threshold and came outside. She shut the door behind her, and walked a little ways off of the steps._

"_Umm … hi, I'm Kairi," she said, her voice kind and friendly. "What are your names?"_

_Sora stepped up first. "Hi! I'm Sora, and the silver haired boy over there is Riku!" _

_They both looked at Riku and the older boy eyed her carefully. He had only ever known one girl, and she was insane enough for everyone on the island. He didn't need _two_ overly hyper girls jumping on him whenever they felt like it, very similar to the way Tigger jumps on Rabbit in one of his favorite storybooks. "Hey, Kairi," Riku said timidly._

"_Yeah, he's kinda shy," Sora said, walking over and putting an arm on Riku's shoulder, obviously trying to impress her._

"_Hey!" Riku said, and cuffed Sora lightly on the head._

"_Ow! What was that for?" Sora cried indignantly, even though the small smack he had received hadn't hurt at all. Kairi giggled softly, her small white dress fluttering slightly in the breeze._

"_Nothing," Riku said playfully. "So, Kairi, want us to show you around, seeing as you're new here and all. I should probably warn you to watch out for Selphie, though," he added, dodging one of Sora's weak lunges at him. Sora landed on his face, and sat up, cleaning sand off of him. "Sora, I'm going to have to teach you to defend yourself one of these days," he said, laughing slightly at the younger boy. Kairi giggled once again, and helped Sora off of the ground. _

"_Sure! I'd love a tour, Sora, Riku," she said, walking off with the two boys._

"_Okay, so that over there is the paupu tree …" Riku started._

_End Flashback

* * *

_

The memory made Sora smile, and he looked down and into the mirror that was currently glowing blue. It showed Kairi on the beach, and she looked … lonely. She looked like she was waiting for someone. Sora opened the portal, and entered it, paupu in hand, landing on the same beach as Kairi. He walked over to the red head, and she didn't seem to notice his approach. Her eyes were fixed on the water, and she kept looking out over the horizon.

Sora snuck up behind Kairi and covered her eyes with his hands, and said, "Guess who?" Kairi looked surprised for a minute, but then seemed to realize who it was.

She smiled up at him, and, even though she couldn't see, she said, "Hi, Sora." He uncovered her eyes and smiled down at her. He sat next to her on the sandy beach, feeling the soft breeze ruffle his soft, spiky locks. She looked at him with a longing look, and snuggled up closer to him. "So, Sora, you decided to come and visit me?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Sora said, putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, and inhaled his scent. He smelled like cinnamon, just like his hair.

"I missed you, Sora," she mumbled into his strong chest. She felt so safe around him, and she let her guard down for the time being, knowing that Sora would protect her.

"I missed you, too. I brought something for you," he said, and pulled the paupu fruit out of his pocket.

"Oh, Sora! Is that for us?" she exclaimed once she saw the fruit.

"Yeah, I brought it for us to share … that is if you want to," Sora said, uncertain. Kairi just smiled at him, and took the paupu from him. She broke it in half, and gave one of the halfs to Sora.

"Of course I want to share it with you, silly," she said, and took a bite of the sweet, sugary fruit. Sora bit into his, too, and he felt happy knowing that his destiny would always be intertwined with Kairi's. "I … I love you, Sora," Kairi said, a slight tinge of pink coming to her cheek.

"I love you too, Kairi," he said as he started to glow blue. "I have to go now, but don't worry. I'm always with you."

"I'm always with you, too, Sora," she said, sad that he had to go. She leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before he disappeared into the sparkling mass blue.

* * *

**Authoress' Ramble:**

Okay, sorry about the first note. I was feeling frustrated when I wrote it, cause I'm falling behind in my reading. So, the main thing out of that was, don't expect chapters every week. School bites. So, anyways, I'm having a little ... survey, to say. You guys get to choose the next world!

The choices are as follows:  
1. **Anastasia**  
2. **The Emporer's New Groove**  
3. **Pocahontas**

Please Review, tell me what world you want, and Ja Ne!


End file.
